SETTLEMENT IN THE WEST. 



SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER; 



INCIDENTAL NOTICES OF WESTERN NEW-YORK. 



▲ COLLECTION Or MATTERS 

'IGNED TO ILLUSTRATE THE PROGRESS OF ROCHESTER DURING THE 
FIRST QUARTER-CENTURY OF ITS EXISTENCE. 

:NCLUDING A MAP OF THE CITY AND SOME REPRESENTATIONS OF SCENERY, 
EDIFICES, ETC. 



ARRANGED BY HENRY O'REILLY. 



" The names of the first settlers are interesting to us chiefly because they were the first settlers. There 
can be little new to offer ; and what can there be interesting to the public in the lives of men whose chief 
and perhaps sole merit consisted in the due fulfilment of the duties of private life ? We have no affecting 
tales to relate of them— no perils by flood or field— no privations induced by the crimes of others or their 
own imprudence. The most that can be said of them is, that they were moral, religious, prudent, quiet 
people, who, with admirable foresight, made the best advantage of their situation, and who lived in com 
fort, begat children, and died." Gordon. 



ROCHESTER : 



PUBLISHED BY WILLIAM ALLING. 

18 38. 




PROGRESS OF ROCHESTER 

" Scarce thrice five suns have roll'd their yearly round 
Since o'er this spot a dreary forest frown'd ; 
When none had dared with impious foot intrude 
On Nature's vast unbroken solitude ; 
When its rude beauties were unmark'd by man, 
And yon dark stream in unknown grandeur ran ; 
When e'en those deaf 'ning falls dash'd all unheard 
Save by the timid deer and startled bird. 

" Behold ! a change which proves e'en fiction true- 
More springing wonders than Aladdin knew ! 
How, like a fairy with her magic wand, 
The soul of Enterprise has changed the land ! 
Proud domes are rear'd upon the gray wolfs den, 
And forest beasts have fled their haunts for men i 
On yon proud stream, which with the ocean's tide 
Joins distant Erie, boats triumphal glide ; 
These glittering spires and teeming streets confess 
That man— free man— hath quell'd the wilderness : 
Before him forests fell— the desert smiled— 
And he hath rear'd this City of the Wild." 

(Prize Ode in 1826, by Frederic iVhittluey.) 



[Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1838, by 

William Alling^ 
in the Clerk's Office of the Southern District of New- York.] 



n 



ow 



THE PEOPLE OF ROCHESTER— 

THE LABORIOUS ARTISANS AND THE PRACTICAL BUSINESS-MEN — 
THE FOUNDERS OF THEIR OWN FORTUNES, 

AND THE ARCHITECTS OF A TOWN WHICH HAS ALREADY ATTAINED THE THIRD 
RANK AMONG THE CITIES OF THE EMPIRE STATE — 

THESE SKETCHES OF THE FIRST QUARTER-CENTURY OF ROCHESTER 

arc BeotcateU 

Br AN INDIVIDUAL WHO CONSIDERS THE CAREER OF THAT CITY AS ONE OF THK 
STRONGEST ILLUSTRATIONS OF 

THE INTELLIGENT ENTERPRISE OF THE AMERICAN CHARACTER. 



NOTE. 

The origin of this volume may be briefly mentioned here. The author, having 
watched with much interest the progress of Rochester during a period wherein the 
importance of the place has fully quadrupled, cheerfully complied with a request from 
the corporation by publishing some statistical information concerning "Rochester at 
the close of 1836," in a manner resembling some of his newspaper statements which 
were collected and published in pamphlet form by some citizens in 1835. The cor- 
diality with which the people of Rochester countenanced those scribblings imboldened. 
the writer to propose the present publication, and induces him now to believe that his 
fellow-citizens will look leniently upon whatever defects or errors may be discovered 
in this effort to preserve memorials of the founders of Rochester while tracing the 
progress of the city to its present flourishing condition. 

Some matters are included in this volume which may not be considered strictly 
relevant to the main purpose ; but perhaps an excuse for their introduction here may be 
found in the circumstance that many of the facts concerning the settlement of West- 
ern New-York are not readily accessible to the public, and are not as fully known as 
they deserve to be, and as the relations of Rochester with the surrounding country 
require that they should be, among our citizens. 

The undersigned has aimed to collect the testimony of early settlers and others 
particularly conversant with certain subjects ; and has in several cases published re- 
marks from such sources in preference to those prepared by himself. The obligations 
under which he is laid by contributions from those and other sources are acknowl- 
edged in connexion with the respective subjects. 

Less time and means might have sufficed for preparing a volume less local in char- 
acter, and therefore perhaps fitted for more general circulation, even though such vol- 
ume had embraced no larger share of facts respecting the settlement of Western 
New-York than are here incidentally imbodied. But the light in which I view the 
City of Rochester, as an exemplification of the energies of an intelligent people under 
liberal institutions, and the good-will with which these and former efforts have been 
seconded by the citizens, have encouraged me in a task wherein their approbation 
will be deemed no inconsiderable reward. 

Hknry O'Reilly. 

May 1,1838. 



ERRATA. 

The following note should have accompanied the meteorological tables included in 
the article respecting " Climate, Soil, and Productions," p. 51-6. As it is important 
that the circumstances under which the observations were made should be known, 
the attention of the reader is asked particularly to this explanation from Dr. Marsh :— 
" Our thermometer hangs upon the south casement of a west window in the second 
story : it faces the north, and has a free western and northern exposure. The regis- 
ters are made at 10 o'clock A.M. and P.M. We have ascertained, by comparisons 
with others in the city, that our thermometer is not influenced by the direct or re- 
flected sun's rays at the time of observation. The barometer (not the wheel) is one of 
Donegani's, London, and is suspended in an office in the second story, fourteen feet 
above the pavement. The registers are made as above mentioned, after slightly 
agitatir - and then adjusting it to a perpendicular." 

In the journal of De Witt Clinton, p. 246, the rate of freight between Utica and Ca- 
nandaigua in 1810 should read $2 50 per cwt., not $25 per ion. 

In page 295, the year in which the Monroe Sabbath-school Union was formed should 
read 1826 instead of 1825. The year was correctly printed on the previous page, but 
the name should read Sabbath-school instead of Sunday-school, as there given. 

An error occurred in the folios after the 336th page. The insertion of a * before 
the folio will notify the reader of the fact. There are about sixty pages in the work 
more than appears at first sight— making about 480 instead of 416, the number on the 
last page— without counting the engravings. 

The firm of L. B. Swan & Co., is omitted in the list of druggists, p. *373. 

The tragical events referred to by a * in page 362 of the appendix are noticed on 
page *3S4, in the notice of the first cattle brought upon the Genesee flats. 

In page 344, appendix, for Mahaknase, read Mahakuas (Mohawks). 

There are some other errors, typographical and otherwise, which the reader will 
probably correct in passing. Any errors of importance may be rectified perhaps in a 
future publication respecting the Pioneers and Settlement of Western New- York. 



INDEX OF THIS VOLUME. 



The CITY OF ROCHESTER ; brief sketch of its rise, progress, and present condi- 
tion, pages 23-36. 

CLIMATE, SOIL, AND PRODUCTIONS of the Genesee Valley, of which Rochester 
may be termed the capital, 37 ; peculiarities of the soil, 37 ; Flats of the Genesee, 
38 ; climate and prevalent winds, 39 ; influence of the lakes on the temperature ; 
temperature of Rochester and the Genesee Valley compared with that of other sec- 
tions, 41 ; adaptation of soil and climate to the production of wheat, 42 ; diversity 
of soil in the upper and lower sections of Genesee Valley, and elsewhere in Western 
New- York, 43 ; falls of the Genesee at Nunda or Portageville, ib. ; adaptation of 
soil and climate to the production of fruits and vegetables, ib. ; the Rochester fruit- 
market, ib. ; advantages of the Genesee Valley for the culture of the mulberry for silk 
and of the beet for sugar, 44 ; indications which the forest-trees afford of the geological 
characteristics of the county, 45 ; the granary of America and the garden of the coun- 
try, ib. ; further remarks on the influence exerted by the lakes on the climate, &c,, ib. ; 
periods remarkable for warmth or coolness, 4b ; observations of Volney and Dwight 
on the climate of the lake country, 47 ; tables showing the temperature of Lake On- 
tario at different periods of the season, 48 ; remarks of Mr, M'Auslan and Professor 
Dewey on the subject, 49 ; thermometrical tables for seven years, 51 ; barometrical 
tables for the same period, 54 ; quantifies of rain and snow which fell in each month 
for seven years, 55 ; difference in temperature between Rochester, and Utica, and 
Albany, 56; atmospheric phenomena produced by the refraction of sunlight from the 
great lakes, 56; beauty of autumnal sunsets, &o., 57 ; cuts representing the refrac- 
tion of rays from the lakes, 60, 61, 62; supposed peculiarities of the atmosphere at 
certain periods for producing such appearances, 63. 

GEOLOGY OF ROCHESTER AND ITS VICINITY : 

Remarkable geological features, 64 ; Professor Dewey's remarks, 65 ; the ravine cat 
by the Genesee furnishing fine views of the strata, 66 ; red sandstone, saliferous 
rock, and salt springs, 66 ; height of the coal formation at Pittsburg above the 
canal at Rochester and above Lake Ontario, &c, 67 ; dip of the strata, fucoides 
and vegetable remains, gray sandstone, «&c, 67 ; appearances of the red sandstone, 
and suggestion of Professor Hall respecting its apparent rise, 68 ; mountain lime- 
stone, containing encrinites, trilobites, «fec, 68 ; Professor Eaton's classifications, 
69; argillaceous slate, marly slate, petrifactions, Ac., 69; argillaceous iron ore, its 
extent and value, 70 ; ferriferous sandrock, chalcedony, carnelian, cacholong, copper, 
petrifactions, &c, 71 ; alternations of slate, sandrock, and limestone, 72; pleasing 
aspect of the strata in the banks of the Genesee, 72 ; calciferous slate, or second 
graywacke, 72; large quantity and variety of petrifactions, 72; green argillite, 
trilobites, asaphus caudatus, <fcc, 73; height of the Falls of Niagara and Genesee, 
73 ; discovery in excavating the bed of the Genesee for the new aqueduct, polished 
rocks, mineral springs, vegetable remains, 74 ; flowers on the banks, calcareous 
tufa, petrified moss, 75; geodiferous limerock, its extent and value, 75; representa- 
tion of a section of the rocks for four and a half miles on Genesee River, 77 ; dilu- 
vium, 77; erratic groupe, evidences of a mighty rush of water, boulders, remnants 
of the mastodon found in Perrinton and Rochester, 78 ; depositesof sand for mortar, 
glass, and brick making, with clay, 79 ; further evidences of a flood, polished rocks, 
&c, 79; remark of Professor Hall on the extent of the polished rocks, 80; alluvium, 
80 ; the Ridge Road, evidences of its formation by the action of Lake Ontario, its 
wonderful peculiarities, &c, 81 ; wood and vegetable matter found in the ri^e, the 
supposed submersion of Western New- York, &c, 82 ; remarks on Lake Ontario 
connected with the ridge, 83 ; comparison with the ocean-dikes of Holland, 84 ; 
transportation of boulders, 86; retrocession of the Falls of the Genesee, 87 ; car- 
bonate of soda, formation of common salt, &c, 88 ; mineral springs, the Monroe and 
Longmoor Springs, 88 ; elevations of different points and waters as compared with 
objects in and around Rochester, 89. 

MEDICAL TOPOGRAPHY : 
Influence exerted on health by the improvement of the country, 90 ; remarks of Dr. 
Coventry on the diseases of the Genesee country from 179'2 till 1796, 92; remarks of 
Dr. Ludlow on the diseases between 1801 and 1824, 93 ; lake or Genesee fevers, no- 
tices of 1802-3-4, 94 ; diseases and temperature of 1805-6-7, 95 ; do. of 1808-9-10, 96 ; 
medical peculiarities of 1811-12-13, 97; destructive disease in 1814, and remarks 

2* 



XV111 INDEX. 

on temperature and health in 1815-16-17-18, 98 ; peculiarities of 1819-20-21-22-23, 
with remarks on goitre and consumption, 99 ; remarks of President Dwight on the 
health of the Genesee country in 1804, &c, 100 ; exemption of the country at that 
time from pulmonary complaints, 101 ; contrast presented to the past by the pres- 
ent state of health in Rochester, &c, 102; increase of consumption, but improve- 
ment of health in other respects, 103; report of deaths in Rochester in 1837, and 
comparsion with mortality in other cities, 104. 

THE LANDS OF THE SIX NATIONS ; which included the City of Rochester : No- 
tices of treaties and laws concerning the extinction of the Indian title, 105 ; first 
treaty between the United States and the Six Nations, 106; Lafayette and Red 
Jacket, 107; first land acquired by the State of New- York from the Indians, 107; 
arrangements between New- York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and the general 
government respecting the lands, 108; lands of the Onondagas, 109; lands of the 
Oneidas and CayugasjlO; the United States and the Six Nations, 111; New- York 
and the Oneidas, Onondagas, and Cayugas, 112; treaty of Canandaigua in 1794, 
112; acknowledged boundaries of the Seneca nation, 113; guarantee and presents 
from the United States to the Senecas, 114; Colonel Pickering and Red Jacket, 
Seneca lands, reservations, &c, 115; the Mohawks, 116 ; the Oneidas, the Brother- 
town Indians, rights of the Indians, disposal of state lands, 117; New-Stockbridge 
and Seneca lands, 118 ; the Senecas, the Oneidas, 119 ; the Cayugas, the Christian 
and Pagan Oneidas, protection of the Indians, 120; Seneca lands, relief of Indians, 
lands of the Onondagas, 121 ; Indians of this state in 1819, efforts of the government 
for their removal, 122 ; last treaty with the remnants of the Six Nations for the pur- 
chase of their lands preparatory to their removal westward, 123 ; lands bought from 
and assigned to the Indians, 124 ; note on the gratitude of the United States to the 
few Oneidas, &c, who were friendly in the revolutionary war, 125; a new state 
projected, 125 ; the lessees, the Indians, and the Legislature, 126 ; Phelps and Gor- 
ham, General Mathews, &c, 127; lessee contracts^ number one, 128 — number two, 
129; treaty between Phelps and Gorham and the Six Nations, 130; enterprise of 
Phelps and his associates, 131 ; incidents of an Indian treaty beside Canandaigua 
Lake, 132; Red Jacket, Farmer's Brother, &c, 133; surveys and land contracts 
devised by Phelps, the u Article," &c, 134 ; controversy between New-York, Con- 
necticut, and Pennsylvania'respecting lands, 135; laws against Connecticut claim- 
ants, 136; suits of Connecticut against New-York, 136; proceedings of New- York 
and of Congress respecting the Connecticut claims, 137 ; final arrangements of diffi- 
culties respecting lands, 138; annuities payable to Indians by New-York, 138. 

SUBDIVISIONS OF WESTERN NEW-YORK, containing some particulars of the 
principal tracts, &c. 

The Holland Purchase, deduction of title, &c, 140 ; boundaries of the lands to which 
the pre-emptive right was ceded to Massachusetts by New-York, 141 ; particulars 
of sale by Massachusetts to Phelps and Gorham, 142 ; sales of lands to Robert Morris, 
the great financier of the American revolution, 143; proceedings of Massachusetts 
Legislature, 144 ; sale of the reserved "sixtieth parts," 144; description of the first 
and second tracts of the Holland Purchase, 145; third and fourth tracts of said pur- 
chase, 146 ; the Dutch proprietors, and judgments against Robert Morris, 147 ; sale 
of Morris's lands by Sheriff Mather of Ontario, arrangements by the Holland Com- 
pany, 148; Gouverneur Morris, Aaron Burr, Alexander Hamilton, and others con- 
cerned in making arrangements, 149 ; conveyance of lands to Thomas L. Ogden, 
&c, the million-acre, 800,000-acre and 300,000-acre tracts, 150. 

The Pulteney Estate, 150; Captain Williamson and Maude the English traveller, 
151 ; settlements in Western New-York, and comparative value of markets for 
produce, Baltimore versus New- York, 153 ; settlements of Bath, Geneva, &c, 153 ; 
Canandaigua in 1792 and 1800, 154; settlements made near Genesee River, at Cal- 
edonia, Scotsville, Big-Spring, &c, through the influence of Captain Williamson, 
and sale of the "Hundred-acre Tract" with the Allen mill to Rochester, Fitzhugh, 
and Carroll, 155. 

The Military Tract—set apart for rewarding revolutionary soldiers, 156 ; unsuccess- 
ful efforts of the state to extinguish the Indian title to the lands thus designated, and 
the designation of another Military Tract, 157; successful arrangement with the 
Indians, and division of the lands among the soldiers, 158 ; sales of patents for lands, 
cheaply and sometimes fraudulently, and commissioners appointed to settle con- 
flicting claims, General Mathews being one of the board, 159 ; value of the lands, 
patents for 600 acres of which were often sold for $8 ! 160. 

Tlte Triangle Tract, the millyard, Aug. Porter, Le Roy, Bayard, and M'Evers, 160. 

The Hundred Thousand-acre Tract, owned partly by Crajgie, Watson, and Green- 
leaf, by De Witt Clinton, Sir Wm. Pulteney, the State of Connecticut, &c, 161. 
Boundaries alluded to— Property Line, Pre-emption Line, Pennsylvania Line, 162; 
lines run by Maxwell and Jenkins, errors produced by the compass and otherwise, 
the struggle for possession of Geneva, <fcc, 163 ; errors in Pre-emption Line cor- 



INDEX. XIX 

rected by Augustus Porter and Joseph Ellicott, and the Pennsylvania Line run by 
James Clinton, Simeon De Witt, Andrew Ellicott, &c, 164. 
Western New-York as it was and is— Albany county embracing all New- York north 
and west of Ulster and Dutchess, Vermont erected into a state from parts thereof, 
165 ; erection and subdivision of Ontario county, which formerly included all west 
of Seneca Lake, 166 ; dates of the creation of counties from the tract which origin- 
ally constituted Albany county, 167 ; agents for the principal tracts into which the 
land west of Seneca Lake was divided, 168. 

PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT— from the Hudson westward to the Genesee and 
Niagara. 

The progress of settlement, indicated by highways, canals, and railroads, 168 ; roads 
laid out in 1792 and 1794, 170 ; roads in 1798-9, when Cayuga bridge was built, 171 ; 
roads in 1800-1, 172; roads in 1804 and 1810, 173 ; roads ordered between Genesee 
River and Lewiston and Buffalo in 1810 and 1812, 174; a semi-weekly stage run 
between Canandaigua and Rochester in 1815, private mails authorized to be run, 
and the expediency considered of establishing a postroute in 1816 between Canan- 
daigua and Lewiston, by way of the village ot Rochester, 175. 

The Canal System— its origin and progress, 1" 5 ; remarkable features of Western 
New-York, 176; Ontario route to the lakes, river navigation, <fec, 177; exploring 
tour and views of General Washington, his services in the cause of internal improve- 
ment, 178; early efforts of various states, 181 ; services of Christopher Colles, who 
first proposed to the New- York Legislature the subject of internal improvement after 
the Revolution, 182 ; Colonel Robert Troup, General Schuyler, Dr. Hosack, &c, 184 ; 
Gov. George Clinton, Elkanah Watson, Lock Navigation Companies, 186 ; projected 
canal around Niagara Falls, 187; Colden on the Ontario route, 188; services of Gouv- 
erneur Morris, and his prediction of ships sailing from London to Lake Erie, 189 ; 
services of Jesse Hawley, who wrote the first essays that proposed the Erie Canal on 
an inclined plane from Niagara River to the vicinity of Ulica, 190; predictions of the 
effect of the canal on New-York and other cities, 191 ; action of Congress and report 
of Albert Gallatin on the policy of improvement recommended by President Jeffer- 
son, 192 ; services of Joshua Forman, who proposed the first legislative measure for 
exploring the route of the Erie Canal, 192; ridicule cast on the proposition, 193; in- 
structions of Surveyor-General De Witt to the Surveyor Geddes, 193-4 ; services of 
Joseph Ellicott, and his letters to the surveyor-general urging the canal policy, 195 ; 
Ellicott's remarks on the route between Lake Erie and Genesee River, 196 ; singular 
theory respecting the former course of Niagara and Genesee Rivers, &c, 197; pe- 
culiarities of the Tonnewanta Valley, 198; Ellicott's proposal of a route for the Erie 
Canal, testimony of Micah Brooks respecting the efforts of Ellicott, 199 ; applications 
made to Gov. Tompkins, De Witt Clinton, and others, to procure their countenance for 
the canal policy in 1809, 200; examinations of James Geddes on the route contem- 
plated for the Krie Canal by Hawley, Ellicott, and Forman, 201 ; attention paid by 
Geddes to the route suggested by Ellicott west of Genesee River, 202 ; report of Ged- 
des to the legislature in 1809, and his own remarks thereon in 1822, 203 ; services of 
Thomas Eddy, Jonas Piatt, Gouverneur Morris, Stephen Van Rensselaer, De Witt 
Clinton, William North, and Peter B. Porter, 204 ; remarks on the first board of Canal 
Commissioners, 205 ; zeal manifested in 1810 and in after years by De Witt Clinton, 
206 ; Robert R. Livingston and Robert Fulton added to the Canal Board, and excel- 
lent character of Thomas Eddy, 206; Jefferson, Gallatin, and Madison, 207; course 
of various States and the general government in reference to the proposed Erie 
Canal, 208 ; second report of the Canal Board, and effects of the war in retarding 
the canal enterprise, 209 ; efforts of Eddy, Piatt, and Clinton after the war, the New- 
York Memorial, &c, 210; important proceedings of the Western Convention at 
Canandaigua in 1817, 211 ; services of Myron Holley, Gideon Granger, John Greig, 
N. Rochester, John C. Nicholas, N. W. Howell, Robert Troup, &c, 212 ; Governor 
Tompkins urged the canal policy, the legislature partially sanctioned it, and the 
Canal Board organized, 213; memorial for aid from Congress, drawn by De Witt 
Clinton and presented by Micah Brooks, 214 : important legislation on the canal 
question, 214 ; final establishment of the canal policy, 215; services of Martin Van 
Buren, in concurrence with De Witt Clinton, in establishing that policy, 216-17; 
Samuel Young and Myron Holley commence the middle section of the Erie Canal 
in the summer of 1817, 218; note on the influence produced by Jefferson's recom- 
mendations in favour of internal improvement, 218; further efforts of Van uren 
with Colonel Young in sustenance of the canal pol cy, and a letter from Myron 
Holley, exhibiiing the difficulties which had to be encountered in extending the Erie 
Canal westward of Seneca River, 219; proceedings in letting contracts in 1819, 
220 ; tr umphant result in 1820, 221 ; surveys for the canal west of Genesee River, 
222 ; speed with which the whole line of the Erie Canal was completed, 223 ; cere- 
monies at Buffalo and Rochester on the completion of the canal, 224-5 ; names of per- 
sons prominent in constructing the canals, 226 ; rate of transportation, enlargement of 
the canal, <&c, 227-8-9-30; proceedings at Rochester, Western Convention to urge 



XX INDEX. 

the speedy enlargement, 231-5 ; extension of the canal policy, list of canals con* 
structed, 236-7 ; Genesee Valley Canal, 238; the two great railroad lines from east 
to west, 239-40 ; amount of the Internal Improvements of the State of New-York, 
241 ; the piosperity of which the growth of Rochester is a striking evidence, 242. 

STATISTICS OF ROCHESTER.— condition of things prior to the incorporation of 
Rochester as a village in 1817, 244-5 ; tour of De Witt Clinton in 1810, 245-6; the 
first public work where Rochester now stands, and the first white person born 
hereabout, 247 ; character given of the Rochester tract in the legislature, 248; ac- 
cidents in crossing the river before a bridge was built, Indians, wild beasts, &c, 
249 : the hearfight at Rochester, 250; first allotment and settlement, 251-2 ; effects 
of the last war with Great Britain in retarding the progress of Rochester. 253-4 ; 
relief for the sufferers granted by the legislature and by the city of New- York, 255 ; 
movements of the British fleet threatening Rochester, 256 ; the close of the war, 
and iis effects ; the village of Rocheslerville incorporated in 1817,258; corporation 
of Rochester, village officers in each year from 1817 to 1834, i>59 ; first election un- 
der the city charter in 1834, 260 ; city officers from 1834 to 1838, 261-2 ; the mayors 
of Rochester, 2t»3-4- 5-6-7-8-9-70. 

Religious and Social Institutions— erroneous impressions abroad, 271-2 ; character 
of new settlements, 273 ; the voluntary principle happily illustrated in Rochester, 
274; the last sacrifice of the Senecas, 275 6: the churches of Rochester — First 
Presbyterian Church, 277-8; St. Luke's Episcopal Church, 279; the Friends, the 
First Baptist Church, &c, 281-2; First Methodist Episcopal Church, 283 ; Second 
Methodist Chmch, St. Patrick's Catholic Church, 284 ; Brick or Second Presbyte- 
rian Church, Third Presbyterian Church, 285 ; Grace or St. Paul's Church, 286 ; 
Reformed Presbyterian, Evangelical Lutheran, and Second Baptist Churches, 287 ; 
Zion Church, Freewill Baptist, Universalis!, German Catholic, Free Bethel, and 
Free Congregational Churches, 288 ; African M. E. Church, church architecture, 
&c, 289 ; tabular statements of churches, 290 ; do. of Sabbath-schools, 291. 

Associations of Rochester — dissemination of the Bible, Monroe Bible Society, &c, 
292: the cause of Sabbath-schools, 293 ; Monroe Sunday-school Union, As-ociation 
of Teachers, &c, 294 ; Genesee Sabbath-school Union, 295 ; Sabbath-school Deposi- 
tory, 296 ; Tract Operations, 297 ; the Missionary Cause, 298 ; Young Men's Domes- 
tic Missionary Society, Foreign Missions, 299; the Temperance Reformation, 300 ; 
statistics of crime connected with intemperance, efforts of Dr. Penney in the temper- 
ance cause in Europe, 301 ; Observance of the Sabbath, Pioneer Line, <fcc, 302-3; 
effects of the efforts made in Rochester, 304 ; Education Societies, Charity Infant- 
school, 305 ; Female Charitable Soi iety, 306-7-8 ; Orphan Asylum, 309 ; Mechanics' 
Literary Association, Apprentices' Library, Young Men's Association, 310 ; lectures 
of Dr. Whitehouse, Myron Holley, Professor Dewey, the Rev. Tryon Edwards, Dr. 
Reid, Dr. Bristol, Dr. Peckham, the Rev. Pharcellus Church, 311 ; Rochester Athe- 
naeum, Pi Beta Gamma, 312 ; William Wood, the philanthropic friend of such insti- 
tutions, 313 ; Rochester Academy of Sacred Music, 314 ; Mechanics' Musical Asso- 
ciation, City Temperance Society, Hibernian Temperance Society, Monroe Total Ab- 
stinence Society, 315: Rochester Anti-slavery Society, masonic institutions. 316; 
theatres and circuses, abolitioji of imprisonment for debt, and of special legislation 
respecting banks, &c, 317. 

Seminaries of Rochester— attention paid to literary improvement, 318-19; High- 
school. Rochester Female Academy, 320 ; Miss Seward's Female Seminary, 321 ; 
other schools, and aid to Hamilton College, 321. 

The Bar of Rochester— tribute of respect to Vincent Mathews, the oldest practising 
lawyer in the state, 322; attorneys of Rochester, public officers, and memoranda, 
323; the Medical Profession, names of practising physicians, Monroe Medical Soci- 
ety, 324. 

Newspaper Establishments— first daily print west of Albany commenced in Roches- 
ter in 1826, and other newspaper establishments, 325 ; the Rochester Daily Adver- 
tiser, Rochester Daily Democrat, Genesee Farmer. &c, 326. 

Military— officers whose headquarters are in Rochester, and uniform corps in the 
city. 327. 

Fire Department— officers of the several companies, Firemen's Benevolent Associa- 
tion, &c, 328 ; fires in Rochester during 1835-6-7, 329. 

Banking and Ensurance— Bank of Rochester, Bank of Monroe, Rochester City Bank, 
Savings Bank, Monroe Mutual Ensurance, and other ensurance agencies, 330. 

Postnffi.ce— its establishment and advancement, 331 ; mails leaving Rochester by 
stages and railroads, the contrast, 332. 

Canal Trade— its extent at Rochester, and influence on other business, 332 ; kind and 
quality of articles shipped or received, and amount of toll at Rochester, 333. 

Revenue District, Rochester or Genesee— its extent, and error respecting it corrected, 
334 ; Port of Rochester, 335 ; report of Lieutenant Smith about the depth of water 
and excellence of harbour, 336-*7. 

Public works in which Rochester i3 interested— Erie Canal enlargement and the great 



INDEX. XXI 

aqueduct, *338-9; progress of the work, *340 ; Genesee Valley Canal, *341 ; opin- 
ions of its value, *342-3 ; Rochester and Auburn Railroad, *344 ; Tonnewanta 
Railroad, *345; importance of the work, *346 ; Rochester Railroad, *347. 

Trade and Manufactures — preliminary notices of Genesee River, its cataracts and 
banks, *348 ; Flats of the Genesee, Big-tree Bend, Wadsworth Farms, *349 ; Avon 
Springs, early settlers, historical recollections, *350 ; water power of the Genesee 
and great floods, *351 ; description of the six engravings of views on the Genesee in 
Rochester, *352. 

Transportation on river, lake, and canal — navigation south of Rochester, Ontario 
navigation, *353 ; early trade between Rochester and Canada, *354 ; canal transpor- 
tation business, owners and agents of lines at Rochester, *355. 

Manufactures and other business— preliminary notice, early millers of the Genesee, 
*356; Maude's account of things in 1798, errors about the falls, *357; Harford's 
settlement and mill, *358; some notice of the savage and lewd career of Indian Al- 
len, who built the first mill on the Genesee, the White Woman, &c.,*359. 

Flour Trade of Rochester— quantity and quality of the article, its extensive sale, &c, 
*360 ; information on the flour trade derived from Hervey Ely, *361 ; the architect 
of the principal Rochester mills, the excellence of machinery, Jcc, *361 ; origin of 
the flour trade, prices of wheat at Rochester from 1814 to 1837, and quantity manu- 
factured, *362 ; quality of the crops and fluctuations in prices ; effects of British 
corn laws, &c, *363 ; hints to farmers, quantity of exports from the wheat country 
for foreign and domestic markets, *364 ; difference in value of Genesee flour to the 
baker and the eater, the flour riots in New- York, memorial of the Rochester millers, 
*365; connexion of Rochester and Western New-York with the grain and flour 
trade, prices of flour for about forty years, *366 ; remarks on the late high prices, 
wheat crops of 1835 and 1836, memoranda about wheat culture, *367 ; early repu- 
tation of Genesee wheat, the Rochester m lis and their original and present owners, 
*368; mills built between 1818 and 1831, *369 ; mills built from 1831 to 1836, 
technical terms, &c, *370. 

Other branches of business, and names of persons carrying them on— carpet- factory, 
and the extent of its business, cloth or woollen factories, firearms, fire-engines, 
*371; tanneries, morocco-dressers, paper-makers, piano-factory, veneering-mill and 
our native woods, sawmills, *372 ; dry goods stores, ship chandlery, grocery and 
provision dealers, tailors and clothing stores, leather-dealers, china, gla«s, and 
crockery stores, builders, carpenters and masons, bakeries, wood-turners, wagon 
and wheelbarrow makers, marble-dressers, lathmills, mill-stores, &c, planemakers, 
painters, *373 : edge-tools, iron-furnaces, boatyards, cooperage, distilleries, brewer- 
ies, cabinet-makers, coppersmiths, &c, &c, *374 ; hatters, carriage-makers, jewel- 
lers, rope and brush makers, tobacco factories, <fcc, &c, *375. 

Hotels, bathing-houses, reading-rooms, &c, *376. 

Markets, Courthouse, jail, &c, *377 ; reform in prison discipline, bridges of Ro- 
chester, &c, *378 ; streets of Rochester, quantity of improvement, *379 ; sewers, 
&c, *380; Rochester Museum, public-grounds, waterworks, *381 ; supply of 
water, wood, and coal, police of the city,*382. 

Miscellaneous — notices of artists, portraits of De Witt Clinton, Red Jacket, General 
Mathews, Colonel Rochester, and Jesse Hawley, views of Rochester, &c, *383 ; 
Raphael West, fate of Catlin, &c, *384. 

Notices of places in the vicinity of Rochester — Carthage Bridge, Irondequoit Bay, 
historical recollections, *385 ; the great embankment, tragical events connected 
with the first oxen brought to the Genesee Valley, *386 ; the Ridge-Road, Braddock's 
Bay, Hanford's Landing, *387 ; former importance of Hanford's and Braddock's 
villages of Charlotte, <fcc, *388. 

APPENDIX. 

RECENT INDIAN OCCUPANTS OF WESTERN NEW-YORK— The courage, 
wisdom, and eloquence of the Six Nations, 337 ; parallel between the Old World 
and the New, 338; conquests of the Six Nations, &c, 339; connexion of the history 
of our northern Indians with the antiquities of Central America, 340; Discourse on 
the History of the Six Nations by De Witt Clinton, :!41, &c. ; glances at the former 
condition of the tribes of North America, 342 ; possessions of the Six Nations, 343; 
the Romans of the Western World, 344 ; local advantages of Western New- York, 
well fitted for warlike tribes, 345 ; French, English, and Indian claims to territory, 
346 ; wise and energetic policy of the Indian Confederacy, 347 ; distinctions of tribes, 
348 ; love of liberty, the Romans and the Confederates. 349 ; superiority of the Iro- 
quois, 350 ; warlike character, 351 ; training of ihe Indians, 352 ; scalping and tor- 
ture, 353; employment of savages in war, 354 ; causes of Indian wars, 355 ; forts 
and trading-posts in Western New-York, 356 ; ambition and policy of the Iroquois, 
357 ; their conquests, 358 ; terror inspired by the Confederacy, 359 ; Indians formed 
a barrier against the French, 360 ; their wars with the French in Canada, 361 ; the 



XXU INDEX. 

Senecas involved in efforts to destroy the British Colonies, 362; horrors of Indian 
warfare in the revolution, 363 ; sublimity of Indian eloquence, 364; Indian massa- 
cres, 365; leases of Indian lands annulled, 366 ; Red Jacket, Logan, and Cicero, 
367 ; the Confederates superior to other Indians, 368 ; Indian languages, 369 ; pop- 
ulation of tribes, 370 ; number of warriors, 371 ; decrease of Indians, 372; their deg- 
radation, 373; baneful influence of the white man upon the Indians, 374; Indian 
wars, diseases, &c, 375 ; effects of spirituous liquors, 376 ; annihilation of the In- 
dian power in the State of New-York, 377. 

Antiquities of Western New- York — ancient forts, 377 ; theories respecting them, 378 ; 
not the work of the Indians, 379 ; antiquity of these forts, 381 ; geological appear- 
ance of the Ridge- Road connected with the inquiry about antiquities 381 ; ancient 
occupants of America, 382 ; incursions of Asiatic barbarians, 383. 

Notes on the wars of the Six Nations with Southern tribes, 384 ; ravages of disease 
among the Indians, 385 ; alliance between the British and Indians in the revolution, 
386 ; Indian desire for neutrality, 387 ; the White Woman's account of the arts used 
by the British, 388 ; Indian hostilities, 389 ; General Herkimer and Jos. Brant, 390 ; 
last conference with the Indians, 391 ; Cornplanter's account, 392. 

Sullivan's expedition against the Six Nations, 393 ; forces employed to avenge the 
massacres of Cherry Valley, Wyoming, &c, 394; skirmishes with the Indians and 
tories, 395 ; operations of the American army against the Senecas at Genesee River, 
396; Indian barbarity towards Lieutenant Boyd, &c, 397 ; Butler, Brant, &c, 398 ; 
destruction of Indian villages and provisions, 399 ; sufferings of the Indians during 
the winter of 1779-80, and their retaliatory measures, 400. 

Indian difficulties after the revolution affecting the welfare of Western New-York, 
401 ; account given by Judge Hosmer of the union of Senecas with the Indians that 
fought against Harmer, St. Clair, Wayne, and Harrison, 402 ; effects of Wayne's 
victory on the Senecas, 403 ; danger of the early settlers of Western N. York, 404. 

Canal Question, note, 405 ; Jesse Hawley, Joshua Forman, and the Rochester com- 
mittee, 406. 

Nathaniel Rochester — one of the few early settlers who are not spared to see the pres- 
ent prosperity of the city, 407 ; his capture of a tory force in the revolution, 408 ; 
further services in the army, and in the convention that formed the government of 
North Carolina, 409 ; his early views respecting Western New- York, 410 ; purchase 
of the Hundred-acre Tract, &c, 411; his political course, letters from Jefferson and 
Madison, 412; his connexion with this city and county, 413; state of society in 
Rochester, 414 ; influence of the French philosophers while Colonel Rochester was 
in the revolutionary army, 414: proceedings of the corporation of the city and vari- 
ous other public bodies at the death of Col. Rochester, 415. 

Rochester in 1826— statements respecting its condition, and letters on the subject 
from Governor Clinton and Dr. Mitchill to Everard Peck, 416, 

Index to Engravings, <SfC. 

A Sketch of Rochester in 1812 precedes the titlepage ; and a Map of the City, with the 
bounds established by the law of 1834, is inserted between the 36th and 37th pages. 

Some views of religious edifices, showing the style of church architecture in Roches- 
ter : the view of the First Presbyterian Church precedes page 277 ; St. Luke's, 279 ; 
Second Baptist Church, 281 ; First Methodist Episcopal Church, 283; St. Patrick's 
Church, and the Brick Church, 285; Grace Church, or St. Paul's, and the Third 
Presbyterian, 287 ; Bethel Free Church, facing 288. 

Some of the seminaries of Rochester : view of the High-school, preceding page 319; 
views of the Rochester Female Seminary and of Miss Seward's Seminary, pre- 
ceding 321. 

Portrait of General Vincent Mathews, facing page 322. 

Six views on the Genesee in Rochester : the view of the Port of Rochester, facing page 
*348; the Lower Falls, *350; the Third Water-power, *352 ; the Middle or Main 
Falls, looking from the east bank westward across and northward down the stream, 
*354; second view of the Middle or Main Falls, looking southward up the stream, 
*356; view of the great Canal Aqueduct across the Genesee in Rochester, *358. 

Sixteen views showing the appearance of some of the manufacturing establishments, 
inserted between pages *360 and *376, viz., the establishments of Thos. Kempshall, 
Hervey Ely, Warham Whitney & Co., Joseph Strong, Charles J. Hill, Ira P. Thur- 
ber & Co., A. Whipple & Co., Edwin and Elias Avery, Mack and Paterson, Thom- 
as Emerson, Meech, Rice, & Co., Richard Richardson, Silas O. Smith, Henry B. 
Williams & Co., Joseph Field, Elbert W. Scrantom, Kidd and Paterson, Jacob 
Graves, Henry L. Achilles, Lewis Selye, <fcc. 

Front of Rochester City Bank, facing page 330. 

Four views of hotels— the Eagle Tavern, the Rochester House, the Monroe House, 
the United States Hotel— between pages *376 and *377. 

New Market, facing page *377. Tonnewanta Railroad Bridge, facing page *378. 

Portrait of Colonel Rochester, facing page 407. 



SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER; 



INCIDENTAL NOTICES OF WESTERN NEW-YORK. 



The suddenness of its rise, the energy of its population, 
the excellence of its institutions, the whole character of. its 
prosperity, render Rochester prominent among the cities that 
have recently sprung into existence throughout a land nota- 
ble for extraordinary intellectual and physical advancement. 
Individual enterprise, fostered by free government, has here 
most happily improved the bounties with which Heaven has 
prodigally endowed the land. Population and even busi- 
ness may have increased occasionally elsewhere in ratios 
perhaps as remarkable ; but in few, very few cases, if any, 
will it be found that the progress in those points has been 
accompanied by the perfection of social institutions to the 
degree in which they are now already beheld at Rochester. 

" New-England ! — rich in intellect, though rude in soil — 
the intelligent enterprise of her sons in a fertile land has 
largely aided in rendering the Genesee country the garden of 
this State." Such were among the sentiments with which a 
statesman of eastern origin was greeted by the people of 
Rochester. The city itself is a worthy monument of the glo- 
rious truth — a truth applicable to the social condition per- 
haps as well as to the physical improvement of this region. 

Indebted we certainly are to various quarters for several 
individuals whose influence has exerted a cheering sway 
over the destinies of Rochester — such as the revolutionary 
patriot* whose name is borne by the city, and some of the 
clergymen whose characters are enshrined in the hearts of 
thousands. Some worthy merchants and excellent artisans 
— some skilful physicians and shrewd lawyers, too — have 
we received from different regions. But the citizens are 

* See notice of Colonel Rochester, at the end of this volume, 



24 PREFATORY REMARKS. 

chiefly of eastern lineage. From the hills of Vermont 
to the borders of the Sound — from the banks of the Con- 
necticut to the shores of the Atlantic — there are few towns 
that have not some representatives among us. The influ- 
ence of ancestry is stamped with hallowed impress upon the 
population; and the New-England colony — for such may 
Rochester be considered — reflects no discredit upon those 
Pilgrim progenitors whose fame extends with the progress 
of human improvement. " The great preponderance of 
eastern men among our population," as we have said else- 
where, " has marked not merely the business relations, but 
the general characteristics of the place ; and it would require 
no great range of imagination for the Yankee traveller, from 
all that he sees around him here, to fancy himself in one 
of the thriftiest cities of his native New-England." In- 
deed, with the facts before us exemplifying the advance- 
ment of the citizens in all the valued relations of society, we 
may declare, with satisfaction heartfelt rather than boastful, 
that nowhere in this broad land is there furnished a more re- 
markable illustration than Rochester already presents of the 
intellectual and moral energies of the American character. 

Some examinations will probably satisfy even the most su- 
perficial observer that, eulogistic as our language may ap- 
pear, the importance of the city is not overrated in these 
remarks. By the national census of 1830, it appears that, 
notwithstanding its recent origin, Rochester even then ranked 
twenty-first among the chief places of the United States. 
The only cities of the confederacy which surpassed it in 
population were New- York with its adjunct Brooklyn, Phila- 
delphia, Baltimore, Boston, New-Orleans, Charleston, Cincin- 
nati, Albany, Washington, Newark, Providence, Pittsburg, 
Richmond, Salem, Portland, New-Haven, Louisville, Norfolk, 
Hartford, and Troy. Our population then was less than 
half its present size. Since that time, the advancement of 
Rochester has given it precedence over several of the above- 
mentioned places ; and we may now predict that the census 
of 1840 will place it about the fifteenth in rank among the 
cities of the American confederacy. 

The New-England States in 1830 had but four places of 
greater population than Rochester. In all the states south- 
ward of the Potomac, there were then but five towns of 
larger magnitude. Cities as well known as Savannah and 
Augusta, for instance, fell short a couple of thousands at that 
time in comparison with Rochester ; and probably neither of 



PREFATORY REMARKS. 25 

them have now a white population more than half the pres- 
ent size of ours. 

Farther comparisons from the census of 1830 show that 
Rochester was then about double the size of either Say- 
brook, New-London, Litchfield, Lyme, Groton, Fairfield, or 
Danbury — or about treble the size of Wethersfield, Stoning- 
ton, Stamford, Norwalk, Haddam, Farmington, or Bridge- 
port. And, considering the different ratios of improvement 
since that period, we cannot doubt that Rochester is now 
quadruple the size of either of those well-known towns of 
Connecticut. Neither of the prominent towns of Vermont 
— Windsor, Woodstock, St. Alban's, Rutland, Norwich, 
Bennington, Burlington, or Brattleborough — were more 
than one third the size of Rochester in 1830 ; and the 
difference is now considerably greater in favour of the latter 
place. 

Considering Brooklyn as an adjunct of New- York, Ro- 
chester now ranks, in the scale of population and of business, 
as the.. third city of the Empire State. The revenue of its 
postoffice, a tolerably correct criterion of the business and in- 
telligence of a town (when such revenue is not swollen, as it 
is not with us, by adventitious circumstances like the distrib- 
uting business), places Rochester in the list next only to the 
cities of New-York and Albany. When the office was es- 
tablished in 1812 at the then newly-projected village of Ro- 
chester, the gross revenue accruing from postage was but 
three dollars and forty-two cents for the first quarter : it is 
now about $4000 per quarter. Such are the vast changes 
which are revolutionizing the wilderness of Northern Amer- 
ica! 

The European, unconversant with the wonders effected 
in the American woods, may hear with amazement that a 
single quarter-century has created in Western New-York a 
city like this, with population twofold greater and institu- 
tions more remarkable for excellence than those of the an- 
cient British city of similar name. Though we cannot here 
point to such magnificent ruins of by-gone times — such 
splendours of tower and temple as throw interest upon the 
City of the Med way — the Rochester of the Genesee may re- 
joice in the living glories of a prosperous people — a people 
who are successfully exemplifying the efficacy of the volun- 
tary principle by triumphing over all obstacles in estab- 
lishing not only their own fortunes, but those religious and 

3 



26 PREFATORY REMARKS* 

social institutions for which governmental patronage is deem- 
ed essential by many in other lands. 

It would probably surprise the generality of the people of 
Britain to learn that an American city, which could not be 
found named in map or gazetteer even twenty years ago, has 
now a population about equal to that assigned in 1830* to 
either Oxford or Cambridge — to Carlisle, Greenwich, Ip- 
swich, Chester, Wigan, Yarmouth, Deptford, or Southamp- 
ton — surpassing that of either Woolwich, Wolverhamp- 
ton, Worcester, or Sunderland — considerably exceeding 
that of either Kidderminster, Huddersfield, Northampton, 
Lynn, Lancaster, or Canterbury — a population which will, 
in five years, judging from the past, equal that which was 
then set down for either Macclesfield, Derby, Exeter, or 
York — and which now is about double the size ascribed to 
either Doncaster, Rochdale, Boston, Hereford, Durham, 
Warwick, Wakefield, Winchester, or our namesake city, the 
ancient Rochester upon the Medway. 

There is not now in the kingdom of Greece a city larger 
than this of which we speak. Caermarthen, the largest city 
of Wales, is only about half the size of Rochester. Among 
the Scotch towns, Greenock and Perth are those which most 
resemble ours in size — there being only five larger towns in 
that country — while either Inverness, Dumfries, Falkirk, or 
Montrose, are about equal in population to three of the five 
wards of our city. Waterford, in Ireland, exceeds Roches- 
ter about one third ; Kilkenny is little larger ; while London- 
derry, Drogheda, and Clonmel fall short of our city ; and 
Armagh, Wexford, and Dundalk are about half the size. 
The census of 1840 will probably place our population on 
an equality of numbers with that of either Mantua, Cremona, 
Bergamo, Ferrara, Ravenna, or Modena : our present size 
about equals that of Pisa, is double that of Bassano, Tivoli, 
or Carrara, with a few thousands more than either Ancona, 
Rimini, Lucca, Piacenza, Treviso, or Lodi, in the Italian 
States. Our population will, in two or three years, equal 
that of Geneva, the largest city of Switzerland ; and is now 
about double the size of Lausanne. Mechlin, Maestricht, 
Mons, and Tournay, in Belgium, are about equal with us, 
but Ostend is only half the size of Rochester. Our popu- 
lation is now about a fifth less than that of Buda, but 

* See Williams's Universal Gazetteer. 



PREFATORY REMARKS. 27 

about double that of either Innspruck, Laybach, or Olmutz, 
in Austria. The cities of France which most nearly assim- 
ilate in size to Rochester are Dunkirk, Grenoble, Tours, 
Limoges, Aries, Poitiers, Aix, and St. Omer, none of which 
varied much from 20,000 in 1830 — Angouleme, Rochefort, 
Bayonne, Rochelle, Cherbourg, and Colmar falling several 
thousands short, &c. We outnumber in the same way some 
celebrated cities of Spain — Salamanca, Ossuna, Alicant 
Pamplona, Bilboa, and Badajos ; have about double the pop- 
ulation of Tarragona, Segovia, Tortosa, Burgos, or St. Se- 
bastian ; and will in about five years equal Cordova, Toledo, 
or Valladolid. We are nearly equal with Bergen and Chris- 
tiana, the chief cities of Norway : the same may be said 
with reference to Gottenburg, in Sweden. Erfurt, Elbing, 
and Halle are about the size ; Potsdam somewhat larger ; but 
Coblentz and Brandenburg, in Prussia, are only about half 
the size. Mentz and Hanover, Nuremburg and Ratisbon, 
will probably be overtaken within five years ; Harlem, Lu- 
bec, Manheim, Darmstadt, and Dort have about the same 
numbers ; while Gotha, Weimar, and Altenburg are about 
half the size of Rochester. 

Thus much for comparisons between our newborn city 
and towns of various nations generally known as somewhat 
celebrated in different ways. Such comparisons may assist 
the memory in fixing the relative rank of Rochester in the 
scale of cities, and enable some readers to realize more per- 
fectly than might otherwise be the case, a sense of the rapid 
progress of improvement in the Western World. 

It maybe observed that these comparisons have reference 
merely to population. In enterprise, intelligence, and busi- 
ness — in moral, religious, and intellectual character — in the 
qualities chiefly requisite to promote social prosperity and 
public welfare — what European town of equal size, be its 
antiquity what it may, can be properly placed in juxtaposi- 
tion with the City of the Genesee 1 

Ostentatious as these references may be deemed by some, 
it seems to us that it is only by such comparisons that we 
can become fully sensible of the blessings with which our 
Republic is endowed. The American, who extends not his 
views beyond the boundaries of his native land, who exam- 
ines not the condition of things social and political in the 
Old World, can never entertain that strong sense of his ad- 
vantages which is seemingly necessary to render him fully 



28 PREFATORY REMARKS. 

grateful to Heaven and to a virtuous ancestry for privileges 
unequalled under the best forms of government which hu- 
man ingenuity has devised in other lands. 

The origin and condition of a city which has so suddenly 
become prominent among the chief towns of the earth, are 
subjects calculated to awaken attention among minds inqui- 
ring about the effects of government and other causes on the 
destinies of the human race. The pioneers of the wilder- 
ness who are yet chiefly spared to enjoy the prosperity 
which they contributed in producing,* cannot look with apa- 
thy upon such investigations ; while the rising generation 
among us may naturally entertain curiosity for information 
concerning the causes and the men that combined in found- 
ing and establishing the city of their birth or residence. 
The ties of consanguinity, which attract towards Rochester 
the thoughts of thousands throughout New-England and 
other sections, may occasion some yearning in many else- 
where to learn particulars of a place with whose inhabitants 
their feelings are measurably identified. The political 
economist may find exemplified in the career of Rochester 
various doctrines of his favourite science ; while the reformer, 
struggling for civil and religious freedom in the Old World, 
may derive from the brief history of the city many proofs 
demonstrative of the salutary operation of the voluntary prin- 
ciple in government secular and ecclesiastical. Those who 
properly appreciate the New-England character, as exem- 
plified by the Pilgrim Champions of Human Rights and by 
their lineage from the first settlement down to the present 
period, may view with interest the living monument of 
intelligent ENTERPRISE which has sprung into existence 
through the transforming influence of Yankee colonists in 
the western wilderness. The causes which have contrib- 
uted to the present condition of things are likewise worthy 
of earnest reflection with those among us whose praise- 
worthy ambition seeks to perpetuate and extend the cheer- 
ing influences which have operated in rendering Rochester 
what it is. Knowledge of the past may encourage us 
for the future — while impressing us with the conviction 
that our individual interests and the aggregate welfare of the 

* Samuel I. Andrews, Francis Brown, Thomas Mumford, Isaac W. 
Stone, John Mastick, and Charles Harford, are, with Colonel Roches- 
ter, among the few exceptions to this remark respecting the prominent 
early settlers of Rochester. 



PREFATORY REMARKS. 29 

city may be best promoted by unswerving adherence to that 
plain system of industry and morality which under Heaven, 
has contributed most largely to the prosperous condition of 
our population. 

With these views, and with a desire to preserve for the 
historian some records of the settlement of the city, while 
persons are living to attest the truth or rectify error, we pro- 
ceed to collect such matters as may be deemed useful in 
elucidating the progress of Rochester during its first 

QUARTER-CENTURY. 

In expressing astonishment at the career of Roches- 
ter, De Witt Clinton* remarked, shortly before his death, 
that, when he passed the Genesee on a tour with other com- 
missioners for exploring the route of the Erie Canal, in 1810, 
there was not a house where Rochester now stands. In 
1812 there were but two frame dwellings here, small and 
rude enough — one of which yet remains to remind us of 
the change since the period when the occupants of those 
shantees had to contend against wild beastst for the scanty 
crop of corn first raised on a tract now included in the heart 
of the city. 

It was not till the year 1812 that the "Hundred-acre 
Tract" was planned as the nucleus of a settlement under the 
name of Rochester, after the senior proprietor.^ This tract 
was a " mill-lot" bestowed by Phelps and Gorham on a 
semi-savage called Indian Allen, as a bonus for building 
mills to grind corn and saw boards for the few settlers in 
this region at the time. The mills decayed, as the business 
of the country was insufficient to support them ; and Allen 
sold the property to Sir William Pulteney, whose estate 
then included a large section of the " Genesee country." It 
is but thirty-six years since the tract was thus owned by a 
British baronet.^ The sale to Rochester, Fitzhugh, and 
Carroll took place in 1802, at the rate of $17 T %% per acre, or 
$1750 for the lot, with its " betterments. "|| Two other 
tracts adjoining the mill-lot, and laid out also in 1812,F to- 
gether with a tract laid out in 1816,** were included with 

* Vide page 245 and 416. t P. 250. t P. 251-2. $ P. 150-5. 

II The new settlements furnish some additions, if not benefits, to the 
English language. To those unfamiliar with the new country, we may 
say that " betterments" is synonymous with improvements in the vo- 
cabulary of the backwoodsman. 

IT Page 25.1. ** Page 251. 

3* 



30 PREFATORY REMARKS. 

the primitive allotment in the boundaries assigned to Ro- 
chester by the law which created it a village in 1817. As 
a fact singularly illustrative of the vast changes which the 
country has undergone, it may be mentioned that "the Hun- 
dred-acre Tract" which Phelps and Gorham bestowed on 
Allen for building the rude and frail mills, was part of a tract 
twelve by twenty-four miles in extent which they had pre- 
viously obtained from the Indians for the purposes of a " mill- 
yard." Some of the land on the east side of the Genesee in 
Rochester (the Hundred-acre Tract being on the west side) 
was sold by Phelps and Gorham in 1790 for eighteen pence 
an acre. 

The events of the last war with Great Britain, which pro- 
duced much distress throughout this frontier region,* impeded 
the progress of Rochester to such a degree that the popula- 
tion at the commencement of 1816 amounted to only 331. 

The formation of religious institutions was commenced 
about this time, when the first clergyman was " settled" in 
Rochester. The communicants of this first church were 
but sixteen in number, and these were scattered about the 
country — some of them residing on the Ridge Road in the 
towns of Brighton and Greece. f The first permanent reli- 
gious edifices were erected about 1822 — the three previously 
erected having been temporary buildings of wood. The few 
years which have passed since then have been wonderfully 
eventful in our ecclesiastical affairs. There are now not 
less than twenty-two religious societies, J whose structures 
embellish the appearance of the city, while their spirituality 
extends a hallowed influence over its social relations. Sem- 
inaries and societies of value in literature and science, § and 
Sabbath-schoolsj| effecting much good with little means, in- 
dicate that there are here actively in operation such causes 
as have rendered New-England celebrated in the annals of 
education — illustrious in the empire of mind. 

The population of the city, numbering 17,160 at the 
close of 1836, may be safely set down at about 20,000 in 
May, 1838. In 1814, when Commodore Yeo, of the British 
squadron on Lake Ontario, made hostile demonstrations at 
the mouth of the Genesee River, Rochester could furnish but 
thirty-three arms-bearing men to unite with the few militia 
of the surrounding country in resisting the threatened attack. IT 

* P. 253. t P. 277. % P. 290. 

$ P. 318-21 ; 310-14. II P. 291. IT P. 255-7. 



PREFATORY REMARKS. 31 

And it is worthy of note, that among all our present thou- 
sands, there are probably not ten persons of manly age who 
were born within the city limits. It is therefore remarkable 
enough that such homogeneousness should be manifested 
among the population — a fact that can be explained best by 
reference to the Yankee lineage of the majority. 

The business of Rochester may be estimated by a few 
facts. This city is interested to a larger extent than any 
other in the carrying-trade of the Erie Canal* — the great 
thoroughfare between the seaboard and the inland waters. 
About one half of the whole amount of stock in all the 
transportation lines on that waterway is owned or controlled 
by our citizens. Rochester is to the Canal what Buffalo 
is to the Lakes. Our staple product is remarkable for its 
quantity as well as quality. The celebrity of the Genesee 
wheat is increased by the skill with which it is here pre- 
pared for market. Rochester is already not merely the 
best, but the largest Hour-manufactory in the world. f 

In various departments of manufactures, such as edge- 
tools, carpeting, fire-engines, firearms, cloths, leather, paper, 
pianos, &c, considerable energy is manifested ; and for the 
hundred other branches of business to which the citizens 
are applying themselves with creditable assiduity and skill, 
we may here only refer to the statements furnished else- 
where in this volume (p. 371-6), with the remark that even 
that list does not include various minor branches of industry 
measurably connected with the establishments therein men- 
tioned. 

The style of the structures, public and private, is indica- 
tive of the good sense and correct taste of the citizens. It 
may readily be inferred, that among a people so prosperous 
in business of such varied and important character, the 
comforts of good dwellings and tastefully-arranged premises 
are largely appreciated and enjoyed. A degree of architec- 
tural taste and solid construction has been strikingly evinced 
in most of the large dwellings erected within a few years 
past. The smaller buildings, which men of moderate means 
are encouraged to erect through the facilities of obtaining 
suitable materials, are generally neat and comfortable. In- 
stead of wooden buildings, such as might be expected in a 
newly-settled " wooden country" — buildings cheaply erect- 
ed, and serving well enough perhaps for a generation — the 
* P. 332 and *355. t P. 360, &c. 



32 PREFATORY REMARKS. 

congregations have generally preferred to erect massive edi- 
fices, chiefly of stone — distinguished for size and beauty as 
well as solidity. The engravings in this volume may super- 
sede the necessity of farther remarks touching the principal 
religious structures — nine of which are here delineated,* and 
the sizes of those and of all the others (for it will be recol- 
lected there are upward of twenty religious societies) being 
given in accompanying tabular statements.! 

The public edifices and most of the manufactories and 
stores are erected of stone or brick. The law has for some 
years forbidden the construction of wooden buildings within 
certain limits ; and care is used to render fireproof some of 
the most valuable structures. 

Connected with this subject, we may briefly notice a few 
facts respecting building materials. It may be considered 
among the greatest advantages of Rochester, that it pos- 
sesses within itself illimitable supplies of stone and sand — 
that our water-power facilitates the dressing of stone by saw- 
ing ; that brick and lime are obtainable to any extent in the 
suburbs ; that our sawmills cut eight or ten millions of feet 
of lumber annually — besides which considerable quantities 
of Allegany pine are floated to us down the Genesee, and 
Canadian lumber is brought to some extent across Ontario 
to our market — that we have hydraulic machinery even for 
cutting lath and mortising doors and sash, with factories for 
making all the tools requisite for performing the labour upon 
the materials necessary for erecting the substantial edifices 
of the city. Surely no place can be better located with ref- 
erence to such important advantages. 

The immense facilities for trade and intercourse furnished 
to Rochester by canals and railroads,^ and the benefits 
flowing from the navigation of the Genesee River and Lake 
Ontario,^ may be estimated by any one who is capable of 
comprehending the range of improvement now in progress, 
as well as that already completed. Within three years, if 
not in two, chains of railroads will be completed so as to 
unite Rochester in that way with the Atlantic and with a 
vast territory in the west. The enlargement of the Erie 
Canal and the construction of the Genesee Valley Canal, (j 
to be completed in three or four years, will form a new era 
in our prosperous history — giving invaluable impulses to all 

* Between pages 276 and 289. f Page 290, &c 

t Page *338, &c. $ P, *353, &c. II P. *338 and *341, 



PREFATORY REMARKS. 33 

branches of our business. The works of the general gov- 
ernment for improving our intercourse by steamboats with 
Ontario have rendered the Port of Rochester an excellent 
harbour for the largest vessels of the lakes, and will soon 
be completed at an additional cost of about $160,000. The 
great aqueduct, with its appendages, for the enlarged Erie 
Canal across the Genesee, will also be completed in a couple 
of years, at an expense to the state of nearly half a million 
of dollars. The works on all the important improvements 
now connected with the city will incidentally prove of great 
value in various ways. 

We have not yet spoken of the natural advantages which 
have most essentially contributed to the sudden and deep- 
rooted prosperity of Rochester. The water-power of the 
Genesee may be considered illimitable for all practical pur- 
poses, when we view the facilities for employing it to the 
greatest advantage. It may be used at various points along 
the banks on both sides of the river, for a space of two 
miles, between the north and south lines of the city. Within 
that distance, the aggregate amount of the different falls 
and rapids of the Genesee is about 260 feet, or a hundred 
feet more than the perpendicular height of Niagara Falls. 

Superadded to all these concurring sources of prosperity 
— not least though last — we may refer to the rich wheat- 
growing region of the Genesee, lavishing its bounties 
prodigally upon its principal city. The proverbial fertility 
and other natural advantages of this section are exemplified 
elsewhere in this volume.* Suffice it here to say, that sun 
never shone upon a land richer in all the elements of agri- 
cultural wealth and general prosperity. 

It maybe that, in the opinions here expressed, we are un- 
duly influenced by the partialities that cluster around home 
and social connexions. It may be that the feelings with which 
we have watched the progress of Rochester, from a com- 
paratively early state to its present palmy condition, have 
presented its advantages in a position which obscures the 
view of opposing qualities. We would not claim any ex- 
emption from the impulses which urge men usually to regard 
with favouring eye the scenes and society by which they 
are immediately surrounded. Let those who witness our 
assertions examine the data by which they are sustained in 
this volume : we ask no faith where we present not facts. 

* Page 37, &c. 



34 PREFATORY REMARKS. 

Past commentaries on the condition of the city may fur- 
nish some criteria for testing our present estimates. In some 
statistical statements published in 1836, ere yet a cloud ap- 
peared to betoken the difficulties which many were unwilling 
to believe inseparable from the then bloated condition of pe- 
cuniary affairs — while the speculating spirit was traversing 
the land with railroad speed — we ventured some predictions, 
accompanied by a few of the facts from which they were 
deduced, which will now serve to show whether we then 
overrated the stability and prosperity of Rochester. Be- 
tween the date of those predictions and the present time, 
pecuniary convulsions have shaken the land with tre- 
mendous violence — subjecting such newly-founded cities as 
Rochester to ordeals particularly severe. And how have 
our predictions compared with the results now witnessed 1 
Let that which we asserted two years ago be compared 
with the present state of things in various cities, and those 
who are conversant with Rochester may then determine 
whether our calculations have not withstood the ordeal of ex- 
perience as well as the city has encountered the storm which 
has swept across the land. 

At the conclusion of some statistical statements published 
in June, 1836, we remarked : — 

" With all the rage for speculation westward ; with all the new vil- 
lages and cities that have been laid out through the ' Far West' during the 
last twenty years, where, in what place, through all that broad and fer- 
tile region, can there be shown any town which has surpassed Rochester 
in the permanent increase of population, business, and wealth 1 Cast 
your eye in all quarters, and where can you behold population more 
enlightened, stable, and persevering ; business more sound, better con- 
ducted, or more prosperous ; civil, religious, and social institutions more 
firmly established ; wealth more certainly rewarding well-directed en- 
terprise — wealth, consisting not merely in vacant lots of immense ima- 
ginary value, but in that species of property which must always be val- 
uable from its constant applicability to the pursuits and comforts of an 
enterprising community engaged chiefly in productive labour 1 

" Twenty years ago there were but 331 people where the City of 
Rochester now stands. The population had swollen to 1500 in 1820. 
Five years afterward, 1825, the census showed a total of 4274. The 
United States census in 1830 gave Rochester a population of 10,863, 
and the state census early in 1835 showed an increase to between four- 
teen and fifteen thousand ! Since that time, the great, influx of emi- 
grants, occasioned by the solid improvement of the city in trade and 
manufactures, without any feverish excitement about real estate, caused 
a larger proportionate increase of valuable population than occurred in 
any other equal space for the previous seven years [and Rochester may 
now boast a population of about twenty thousand in 1838 — it exceeded 
seventeen thousand at the close of 1836]. 



PEEFATORY REMARKS. 35 

u In the extension of the manufacturing, milling, and forwarding busi- 
ness, more has been done within the last two years than in the previous 
six years ; and from the impetus given by the immensely valuable inter- 
nal improvements, in progress or authorized by the state, as well as those 
projected by individual enterprise, it cannot be doubted that the prosper- 
ity of the city will, for the next five years, increase in a ratio surpassing 
the most rapid strides which Rochester has made from its foundation to 
the present day. 

" This prediction is the more confidently made, from the facts 

" That the additions to the population are chiefly mechanics and arti- 
sans characterized by the ingenuity, perseverance, and moral worth 
which constitute the true riches of New-England ; 

" That the hydraulic privileges, with the facilities of trade by lake, 
canal, and railroad, and the proverbial fertility of the Genesee Valley, 
.offer to such a population strong inducements and inexhaustible means 
for developing our great resources ; 

''That the prosperity of the city has been occasioned chiefly by the 
toil and enterprise of hardworking artisans and practical business men ; 
instead of being bloated into notoriety by the forced or fraudulent exer- 
tions of speculating capitalists ; 

" And last but not least, from the fact, the important fact, that, not- 
withstanding the great efforts which have been used to direct attention 
farther west, Rochester has quietly pursued its prosperous course almost 
wholly uninfluenced by the mad spirit of speculation which must, as cer- 
tainly as effect follows cause, react ruinously and speedily upon some of 
the paper cities that have been rendered most notorious in this way. 

" The lesson on this subject which Rochester experienced some seven 
years ago," we remarked in June, 1836, •* was a moderate lesson com- 
pared with that which certain other cities and towns are shortly to un- 
dergo. The temporary reverse which our citizens then felt has warned 
them, amid all their subsequent prosperity, against extravagant and 
gambling speculations ; and now the credit of the city abroad is like its 
prosperity at home — unshaken by those unreal operations in real estate 
which are proving, and will long prove, a curse to those places whose 
blustering career for some time past has contrasted strongly with the 
steady, and solid, and noiseless growth of Rochester. 

" The vast water-power yet unemployed — water-power which may 
be used at various points on both sides of the river for two miles 
through the city; the rich agricultural region around Rochester; the 
facilities for trade and travel by canal, lake, river, and railroad, as well 
as those anticipated from the great public improvements commenced or 
contemplated ; the opportunities presented for prosecuting the woollen, 
cotton, paper, andiron manufacture to a greater extent — but little, com- 
paratively speaking, having yet been done in those branches of busi- 
ness — the favourable openings for commencing the manufacture of glass 
and sundry other articles ; the benefits that must result to our large 
forwarding and boatbuilding interests from the enlargement of the Erie 
Canal, and from the construction of the Genesee Canal ; the advantages 
that may be expected from railroads to connect east and west with the 
Tonnewanta Railroad, giving to Rochester all the benefits of railroad 
(as well as canal and lake) communication with the West and with the 
East ; and last but not least, the enlightened and enterprising charac- 
ter of the people by whom so much has been already accomplished in 



36 PREFATORY REMARKS. 

rendering Rochester what it is — each and all of these considerations 
proclaim in terms which cannot be mistaken, what Rochester must and 
will be, as its yet unimproved and immense resources are gradually 
made available through the energy of the population. 

" It is a fact well worthy of remark, that Monroe county, in which 
Rochester is situate, holds about the same relative rank among the 
counties that Rochester does among the cities of the state. It is but 
about thirteen years since Monroe was made a county, with a population 
of 23,000 ; while by the census of 1835 it showed a population of fifty- 
eight thousand — and now exceeds sixty thousand. So that, so far 
as population is concerned, Monroe is fourth only in the rank of coun- 
ties, as Rochester is among the cities — while the business of both, in 
many respects, places them in the third class of cities and counties in 
this ' Empire State.' These facts are highly important, showing as 
they do that the city, large as is its increase, is sustained in its progress 
by the improvement of the surrounding country. 

" On a calm retrospect of the past — in the bright anticipations of the 
future — what citizen of Rochester can find any cause for envying the 
growth or prosperity of any other city either ' Down East' or in the ' Far 
West?"' 

The comparative tranquillity and continued prosperity of 
Rochester during the revolutions which have distracted 
business so essentially elsewhere during the past year, 
abundantly verify the predictions hazarded as above in the 
summer of 1836. The statements which have thus with- 
stood the ordeal of a trying crisis are in their general tenour 
equally applicable to the present condition of the city. 

The character of the people of Rochester cannot be ade- 
quately estimated without considering the various moral, re- 
ligious, and political enterprises* wherein their spirit and 
energy have been displayed. Additional to their toil in ad- 
vancing their private fortunes and constructing their dwell- 
ings, see what has been done by them, not merely in church- 
building, but in contributions of personal service and pecu- 
niary assistance to the great schemes of reformation which 
are now quietly revolutionizing the world.* The demands 
for local purposes! in the city which has suddenly sprung 
up through their industry have not prevented them from be- 
stowing adequate attention on the general advancement of 
the state in legislation and physical improvement.^ 

Bui it is our purpose to furnish particulars rather than 
generalities. And with these prefatory remarks, we refer 
those who have any curiosity in the matter to the various 
papers of this volume calculated to elucidate the positions 
we have already assumed. 

* P. 290-317. f P. 379-80. t P. 175-6, &c, 317, &c. 




iter 



I fl I i 



s \ 



CLIMATE, SOIL, AND PRODUCTIONS. 



The City of Rochester and the Valley of the Genesee are 
so intimately connected in their resources and interests, that 
an account of the town would be essentially defective with- 
out ample reference to the rich country of which it may be 
termed the capital. 

The Genesee Valley, by which is understood the 
whole territory drained by the Genesee River, is one of the 
most important sections of the State of New-York, whether 
considered with reference to position, extent, fertility, or 
variety of production. Two causes principally contribute 
to this distinction — its soil and its climate. The charac- 
ter of the first must, as in most other cases, depend on the 
geological structure of the country and the causes that have 
been brought to operate on this structure : in the Genesee 
Valley these causes have mostly been the natural ones of 
disintegration and decomposition, which aided in forming 
the immense alluvial deposites for which it is so deservedly 
famed, by the action of the river and its tributaries. 

Rising in the heart of Potter county, Pennsylvania, the 
Genesee River flows north into the State of New-York, and, 
crossing its entire breadth, is discharged into Lake Ontario. 
Its course in a direct line in this state is nearly ninety 
miles ; its whole course perhaps one hundred and thirty. 
In this state its course is winding through the counties of 
Allegany, Livingston, and Monroe — its general direction 
from south to north. The average width of the country 
drained by the Genesee River may be about twenty-five 
miles, and the territory in this state about 2300 square 
miles. 

The soil of the Genesee Valley partakes of the nature 
and qualities of the formations beneath — on the elevated 
lands has evidently been produced by disintegration and 
4 



u 



y 



38 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

decomposition, and on the flats by deposition : the character 
of these alluvial deposites will therefore be determined by that 
of the country through which the river flows. The Genesee 
River may be considered as occupying two extensive levels ; 
the first reaching from Rochester to the Falls at Nunda or 
Portage, upward of forty miles, and the other from these 
falls to its source : and these levels are not more distinctly 
marked by the falls that terminate them, than by the differ- 
ence in the soils that constitute them. The river has its 
source among the hills at the northern extremity of the Penn- 
sylvania coal formation. After entering this state, its course 
for forty miles in Allegany county is through the sandstone 
and argillaceous slate that constitute the transition rocks of 
the southern slope of the Western District ; and, of course, the 
upper part of the valley is siliceous, or inclining to sand and 
loam. In the northern part of Allegany county, the river 
passes through the elevated ridge dividing the waters of the 
lakes from those that flow into the Allegany and the Susque- 
hannah ; a ridge broken through by no other stream in its 
whole extent from Lake Erie to the primitive region east of 
the Black River. On this elevated range, here as else- 
where, the soil assumes a more compact texture, owing to 
the decomposition of the argillaceous slate of the higher 
part of the northern slope, and begins to exhibit in the 
streams and the earth those traces of lime of which the 
southern slope is so remarkably and entirely destitute. At 
the falls of the river at Nunda a new formation may be said 
to discover itself, of which lime in some form is the basis, 
exerting a corresponding influence in determining the char- 
acter and qualities of the soil; and which, with trifling ex- 
ceptions, continues to the mouth of the river. At first the 
limestone is schistose, then bituminous, and finally compact, 
as may be seen by an examination of the Falls at Nunda 
and at Rochester. Beneath the limestone, and forming a 
narrow tract of country between the limestone rock and 
Lake Ontario, is a stratum of red sandstone, which, in its 
limited extent, is not without its influence on the soil. The 
vast quantities of calcareous and argillaceous earth, how- 
ever, that have been carried down from the great masses 
lying above, and deposited on this sandstone slope, has 
mostly obviated the barrenness that would naturally have 
resulted from the disintegration of this stone ; and, for some 
purposes, constituted one of the finest soils in the state. 



CLIMATE, SOIL, AND PRODUCTIONS. 39 

Nowhere can there be found soils of more inexhaustible 
fertility than the far-famed Flats of the Genesse River. 
These extend, with a width varying from one mile to two 
and a half miles, more than sixty miles in length. They are 
marked, of course, by the peculiarities of the country through 
which the river flows, but their general character of fertility 
is the same. Above Portageville, the principal ingredients 
are pebbles, sand, and vegetable matter, with a sufficient 
mixture of argillaceous earth to give compactness, and pre- 
vent the soil being porous. Below the Falls of Nunda, 
washed argillaceous slate, decomposed bituminous shale, 
giving a peculiar dark hue to the deposite, lime in the shape 
of pebbles and calcareous matter, and a copious admixture 
of vegetable mould, are the principal characteristics. As the 
Ontario is approached and the limestone strata become more 
fully uncovered, the quantity of calcareous matter is greatly 
increased, and, for the last twenty miles, a large proportion of 
the earth is composed of this ingredient under some one of 
its many forms. 

One of the most important considerations that give char- 
acter to, and enter into our estimate of any country, must be 
derived from the climate, as on that so much of the health, 
happiness, and prosperity of the population must be depend- 
ing. The climate of the Genesee Valley partakes of the 
natural influences that operate in this latitude, to which are 
added some peculiar to itself, arising from its location with 
reference to the great lakes. It is a well-ascertained fact, that 
the general course of the winds in any country is greatly in- 
fluenced by ranges of mountains, the valleys of large rivers, 
or extensive bodies of water ; and this truth is nowhere more 
strikingly apparent than in the country occupied by the great 
lakes and the St. Lawrence. In all the United States west 
of the Allegany Mountains, the winds for a large part of the 
year are from some point between west and southwest, and 
in the valley of the lakes this direction becomes more prev- 
alent and its effects more apparent. The appearance of the 
primitive forests of western New- York, and, since these have 
been cleared away, the orchards which have partially taken 
their place, proves this fact beyond a doubt. The whole 
woodlands at the eastern shores of Erie and Ontario Lakes 
have a sensible inclination to the east ; a character so marked 
as to arrest the notice of every observing traveller or individ* 



40 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

ual ; and, in our orchards, planted where they are freely 
exposed to the prevailing currents of air, three fourths of 
the trees will be found leaning to some point between east 
and northeast. This can be attributed to nothing but the 
influence of the prevailing winds. Indeed, so well is this 
understood, that, in planting trees, it is customary to give 
them a slight inclination to the southwest, in order to coun- 
teract this tendency. If any one is still incredulous as to 
this general direction of the wind in the great valley of the 
lakes, or anywhere west of the Allegany Mountains, let him 
examine the first wood of tall hemlocks thrown in his way, 
and he will find, in the uniform direction of the long flexible 
twig that points the conical top of these trees, an argument 
of the most unanswerable kind. 

Observations have made it certain that the climate of any 
place must in a great measure depend on the temperature of 
the region (whether it be land or water) over which the pre- 
vailing current of air flows ; and this fact is apparent in the 
Genesee Valley. If the general course of the wind is from 
the southwest, the influence of the lower Mississippi and the 
Gulf of Mexico is felt in elevating the temperature, and, of 
course, modifying the climate ; if the current is from the west, 
the great lakes, never, as a whole, cooled down to the freez- 
ing point, must exert the same general sensible tendency ; 
and, opening as the Genesee Valley does on the southern 
shore of the Ontario, not far from midway between its two 
extremities, if the wind is from any northern point, its sever- 
ity is mitigated and equalized by the open waters of the lake. 
These great bodies of water that lie to the west and north 
of the Genesee Valley are raised by the heats of summer to 
a temperature greater than that of the earth ; and as a longer 
winter than ours is required to reduce them to the freezing 
point, they act as immense heaters on the incumbent atmo- 
sphere or the passing winds, preventing those sudden fluctua- 
tions and depressions of temperature that produce early 
frost, so injurious in places more remote from their influence. 
Their effects are not less sensibly felt in equalizing the 
temperature of the early spring, by preventing an undue heat 
and consequent premature putting forth of vegetation ; an 
effect which is frequently most destructive to fruits where 
not checked by this cause. Even the chain of small lakes 
discharged by the Seneca River and the Oswego have a de- 
cided influence on the temperature of the country on their 
margins, and this is the more sensible on those that remain 



CLIMA.TE, SOIL, AND PRODUCTIONS. 41 

unfrozen the longest. To these general truths, the multi- 
plied thermometrical observations made within a few years, 
in our public institutions and by private individuals, offer the 
most conclusive testimony. 

Sundry important tables illustrative of this interesting 
subject will be found at the conclusion of this article, which 
will amply repay the attention requisite for a careful exami- 
nation. (See p. 48, &c.) 

By comparing these results with tables of temperature in 
other places of the same latitude on this continent, it will 
appear that Rochester has the advantage of most of 

THEM IN EQUALITY OF SEASONS. 

In going eastward from Rochester, we find that at Utica, 
Albany, Pittsfield, Northampton, and even in the vicinity of 
Boston, the thermometer is below zero more frequently than 
in that city ; and that in most years it sinks many degrees 
lower in those places than has ever been known at Roches- 
ter. In going west, at Buffalo, Detroit, and until a position 
west of the lakes has been gained, the temperature much 
resembles that of Rochester, though from the causes men- 
tioned it is nowhere so equable, especially during the win- 
ter months. West of the great lakes, a west wind during 
the winter months produces a great degree of cold, sweep- 
ing as it does over an almost unbroken plain of ice and 
snow from the Rocky Mountains. Thus a west wind or 
northwest will sink the thermometer at Galena or Chicago 
far below zero, when the influence of the lakes will prevent 
its reaching that point at Rochester ; and at Cincinnati and 
Marietta the mercury usually descends several degrees in 
the course of the winter below what it does on the south 
shore of the Ontario. 

These remarks will principally apply to the lower part 
of the Genesee Valley. As the country rises to the south, 
the influence of the lakes become less apparent ; the degree 
of cold during the winter increases ; the changes are more 
sudden and extreme ; and, when the elevated lands are gain- 
ed, the climate and the meteorological aspect becomes the 
same as in other sections of the interior. Thus it not un- 
frequently happens, that during the prevalence of north 
winds in the early part of winter, fog, mist, or rain will pre- 
vail at Rochester ; some ten or twenty miles in the interior 
snow begins to mingle with the rain ; and on and south of 
the dividing ridge, snow will be falling in great quantities. 

4* 



42 SKETCHES OP ROCHESTER, ETC. 

This phenomenon may be noticed as far as Oswego on the 
east and the shore of Erie on the west. 

The capabilities of any country for the production of the 
numerous varieties of vegetable nature, and the kinds best 
adapted to the soil of any particular region, may be gen- 
erally correctly inferred when the constituents of that soil 
and the peculiarities of the climate are fully understood. 
Judging from these indications, the Valley of the Genesee 
should be equal in productiveness to any part of the world 
in the temperate zones ; and that such is the fact, we have 
the most conclusive and satisfactory evidence. 

Wheat is at present, and will probably long remain the 
great object of cultivation ; and the quantities produced be- 
tween the Ontario and the Falls of Nunda at Portageville, 
which may be considered the southern limit of the wheat 
country proper, would almost exceed belief; and in quality 
as well as quantity is generally considered much beyond 
that of any other section of the country. It was for many 
years supposed that the rich flats of the Genesee River were 
unsuited to the production of wheat, it being imagined that 
the growth would be so luxuriant as to produce lodging of 
the grain and mildew, and the consequent destruction of the 
crop. To a certain extent this was and still may be true 
on some of the more moist and recent alluvial sections ; but 
the general introduction of the harder-stemmed varieties of 
wheat, in place of the former kinds of red wheat, such as 
the white flint in the place of the red chaff and bearded 
reds, has in a great measure obviated these difficulties, and 
the flats are now as celebrated for wheat as they formerly 
were for corn. Of this the following instances, and they 
might be multiplied to almost any extent, will be perfectly 
conclusive : — 

In 1835 Messrs. P. and G. Mills cut from twenty-seven 
acres on the Genesee Flats near Mount Morris, 1270 bush- 
els of wheat, or forty-seven bushels to the acre. In 1834 
the same gentlemen cut from eighty acres three thousand two 
hundred bushels of wheat, being forty bushels to the acre. 
The most beautiful field of corn we ever saw was in the sum- 
mer of 1833, on the farm of W. C. Dwight, Esq., on the flats 
a few miles above Geneseo. There was one hundred and 
seventy acres lying in one body, and from it he harvested 
twelve thousand eight hundred bushels of shelled corn. In 
1834 the same gentleman had twenty acres of wheat, which 



CLIMATE, SOIL, AND PRODUCTIONS. 43 

averaged forty-eight bushels per acre, and two acres of the 
best of which produced fifty-two bushels per acre. The 
elevated country .on the east and west of the river is scarcely 
inferior in the growth of wheat; the greatest amount we 
believe on record as the well-authenticated product of a sin- 
gle acre having been raised by Mr. Jirah Blackmore, of 
Wheatland, being sixty-four bushels per acre. 

AJbove the falls of the Genesee at Portageville, the dis- 
tance of a few miles makes a marked distinction in the char- 
acter of the soil and its productions generally ; a distinction 
which is readily seen from Erie to the Oneida, as the divi- 
ding ridge is approached or crossed, and which frequently 
rests on a narrow valley or the passage of a little brook. 
This distinction, as we have already intimated, depends on 
the greater quantities of clay mingled in the soil, and the 
decrease of lime. On the river flats above Portageville 
wheat is cultivated to some extent, but the great object of 
the farmer is corn, and this crop is usually very heavy. 
On the elevated lands of the Genesee Valley the attention 
of the owners of the soil will be principally directed to the 
growth of wool, the raising cattle for market, and the vari- 
ous products of the dairy. Spring grain, such as spring 
wheat, barley, oats, &c, can be produced to any desirable 
amount : no country can exceed it in the production of the 
grasses ; and when the Genesee Valley canal and the New- 
York and Erie railroad shall have developed its resources 
in connexion with the coal and iron mines of Northern 
Pennsylvania, it will not be found one of the least inviting 
sections of our extended country. 

It must be evident, from the nature of the soil and the pe- 
culiarities of climate in the lower Genesee Valley, that it is 
admirably adapted to the production and perfection of the 
various fruits and vegetables raised in our latitudes. It is 
found that the various kinds of hardy fruits, such as the 
apple, pear, plum, quince, cherry, &c, are of the best varie- 
ties and easily cultivated ; and that many of the more deli- 
cate fruits, such as peaches, apricots, nectarines, grapes, 
&c, attain a size and richness of flavour rarely equalled in 
our northern latitudes. Of these facts a visit to the Roches- 
ter fruit-markets at the proper seasons will convince any 
observer, and show that the southern shore of the Ontario 
is emphatically a fruit country. A great variety of orna- 
mental trees and shrubs, which are unable to withstand the 



44 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

early frosts and severe cold of the valleys of the Hudson 
and the Connecticut, succeed without trouble in the vicinity 
of Rochester and the Ontario. That the Valley of the 
Genesee is adapted to the growth of silk would seem clear 
from the fact that the various kinds of foreign mulberries, 
such as the Chinese, Broussa, and Italian, withstand the 
usual cold of our winters without injury, but also that the 
wild mulberry is found on the Upper Genesee and many of 
its branches. 

The region of the Genesee Valley must, from the con- 
stituents of the soil and its uniform great fertility, enable the 
gardener or the farmer to produce all the varieties of roots 
usually cultivated, and in any desirable quantity. The vast 
and beautiful maple forests of the upper part of the valley 
are now sufficient to supply millions with sugar ; but these 
are rapidly decreasing before the advancing wave of popu- 
lation, the unsparing axe of the woodman, and the demand 
for ashes for manufacturing and commercial purposes ; and 
the time is not far distant when a supply of that indispen- 
sable commodity must be looked for elsewhere. If, as is 
hoped, the manufacture of beet sugar should succeed in this 
country as in France, it will be found that no part of the 
United States can equal the Genesee Valley in the growth 
of that root : so at least experiments already made would 
seem to indicate. In the flourishing and extensive nurse- 
ries and gardens of Rochester may be found abundant proof 
of the capabilities of this region in these respects ; and that 
the horticulturist and floriculturist cannot desire a more fa- 
vourable theatre for the display of his skill, or where their 
exertions are more certain of being crowned with success. 

The geological formation of Western New-York is marked 
by a regularity truly surprising ; and the native forests of 
the whole country, as well as those of the Genesee Valley, 
will serve as almost unfailing indications of the soil beneath. 
Over the whole extent of this territory it may be said that 
oak timber marks a soil of which the base is calcareous, or 
in which more or less lime is present. The prevalence of 
elm, beech, and maple distinguish those in which aluminous 
earth preponderates ; and where pine, hemlock, and birch 
prevail, the soil varies from loam to sandy, or is siliceous in 
its character. With few exceptions, and those not in the 
Genesee Valley, observation will show that such is the fact. 
From the shore of the Ontario to the falls of the Genesee at 



CLIMATE, SOIL, AND PRODUCTIONS. 45 

Portageville, over the red sandstone and limestone to the 
verge of the argillaceous slate, the prevailing timber is oak, 
mixed with other varieties of trees, plainly denoting the cal- 
careous nature of the soil ; and, with the disappearance of 
the oak lands, passes away also the soils best adapted to 
wheat. The argillaceous or clayey nature of the dividing 
ridge, with a considerable extent on both sides, and spurs 
or elevated ranges of the same kind of rock that occasionally 
extend north or south beyond its usual limits, as on the west 
side of the Genesee river, is marked by the beech and maple 
forests ; while the siliceous lands formed by the decomposi- 
tion of the sandstone formation, as we approach the Penn- 
sylvania line, are covered with the magnificent white pine, 
which occasionally descends into the river-bottoms, as well 
as crowns the neighbouring hills. 

In concluding these observations on the soil and climate 
of the Genesee Valley, we may remark that it may well be 
questioned, when its known capabilities are considered, 
whether any section of the United States, of the same num- 
ber of square miles, can be found capable of supporting a 
greater population, and supplying them with all the neces- 
saries and many of the luxuries of life, than the Valley of 
the Genesee River. It has with great truth been denom- 
inated the Granary of America; and should circum- 
stances direct in proper channels, and no unforeseen events 
unite to check the enterprise and mar the prosperity of the 
inhabitants, it can and will, with equal truth and justice, 
claim, ere long, that of the Garden of the Country. No 
element of prosperity or happiness appears to be wanting. 
In the Genesee Valley Nature appears to have faithfully 
performed her part : it only remains for the inhabitants to 
appreciate and improve the advantages she has so prodigally 
placed in their hands. 



INFLUENCE OF THE LAKES ON THE CLIMATE. 

The effects of the great lakes on the temperature of the 
country were not unmarked by the early settlers and travel- 
lers. In connexion with" the foregoing remarks, and pre- 
liminary to the tabular statements deduced from recent ob- 
servations, it may be interesting to some to notice the re- 
marks made by President D wight while on a tour through 



46 SKETCHES OF RO*CHESTER, ETC. 

Western New-York about thirty years ago. It is satisfac- 
tory to us to be able now to supply some " facts on which a 
decision can be correctly founded," even though but half the 
period has elapsed that he deemed requisite for the ob- 
servations. 

"The climate of this region differs in several respects 
from that of New-England, and from that of New- York 
along the Hudson, and, in some parts of the region itself, 
differs sensibly from that of others," said President Dwight. 
" What it will ultimately appear to be cannot be determined 
till a longer time shall have elapsed after the date of its 
first settlement, and more and more accurate observations 
shall have been made concerning the subject. There is, so 
far as my observation has extended, a circuit of seasons in 
this country, and perhaps in many others, accomplished in 
periods of from ten to perhaps fifteen years. The period 
in which most of this tract has been settled, commencing 
in the year 1791 and terminating with the year 1804, has 
been distinguished by an almost regular succession of warm 
seasons. There were but three cold winters, namely, those 
of 1792, 1798, and 1799. The summers were all warm. 
What the state of the climate was here during the preceding 
cold period, from the year 1780 to the year 1790 inclusive, it 
is impossible to decide.* In the census of 1790 three town- 
ships only are mentioned west of the German Flats — Whites- 
town, Chemung, and Chenango ; and these contained at that 
time but 3427 inhabitants, although they included nearly ev- 

* The winter of 1779-80 was, in the Genesee country as on the 
Atlantic coast, remarkable for its severity. Its great rigour operated 
with tremendous severity upon the Indians who were suffering from 
the destruction of their homes and provisions by the army of Sullivan. 
The " White Woman," whose testimony is frequently quoted in this 
work, in mentioning some of the privations to which her Indian associ- 
ates were subjected after the avenging course of the American troops, 
said in 1823, " The succeeding winter (1779-80) was the most severe 
that I have witnessed since my remembrance. The snow fell about 
five feet deep, and remained so for a long time ; and the weather was 
extremely cold, so much so, indeed, that almost all the game upon which 
the Indians depended for subsistence perished, and reduced them al- 
most to a state of starvation through that and three or four succeeding 
years. When the snow melted in the spring, deer were found dead 
upon the ground in vast numbers ; and other animals of various descrip- 
tions perished from the cold also, and were found dead in multitudes. 
Many of our [Indian] people barely escaped with their lives, and some 
actually died of hunger and freezing." 



CLIMATE, SOIL, AND PRODUCTIONS. 47 

ery individual of European extraction. Half a century at 
least will be necessary to furnish the facts on which such a 
decision can be correctly founded. Still I am of opinion that 
the climate of this tract is milder than that of the eastern 
parts of New-York and New-England which lie in the same 
latitude. The cause of this peculiar mildness I suppose to be 
the great lakes ; which, commencing in its vicinity, extend 
along its whole northern boundary and almost all its west- 
ern ; and thence, in a western and northwestern direction, 
almost to the middle of North America. That these lakes 
do not contribute to render this climate colder, has, I trust, 
been heretofore satisfactorily evinced ; that they make it 
hotter has never been supposed. 

" It has been extensively agreed by modern philosophers 
that the two great causes of a mild temperature are nearness 
to the shore and proximity to the level of the ocean. Those 
countries which border on the ocean are, almost without an 
exception, warmer than central countries in the same lat- 
itude ; and those which are little raised above its surface are 
regularly warmer than such as have a considerable eleva- 
tion. Mr. Volney, however, with that promptness of deci- 
sion for which he has long been remarkable, found, as he be- 
lieved, satisfactory evidence that this opinion is groundless 
in the climate of the regions bordering on the Lakes Erie 
and Ontario. This climate he asserts to be milder than that 
of the shore in the same latitude where it is scarcely raised 
above the ocean. Yet the tract which enjoys this mild tem- 
perature is elevated and distant from the sea. The prem- 
ises here assumed are undoubtedly true, but the conse- 
quence does not follow. The lakes have the same influence 
here which the ocean has elsewhere. The elevation above 
them is so small, and the distance from them so short, that 
the full influence of both advantages is completely felt. 
Among the proofs that this is a true explanation of the sub- 
ject, it is only necessary to observe that the southeastern 
parts of the county of Genesee, the counties of Steuben, 
Tioga, Delaware, and Greene, are sensibly colder than those 
immediately south of Lake Ontario. It ought perhaps to be 
observed here, that countries on the eastern side of a conti- 
nent are regularly colder in winter and hotter in summer than 
those on the western. The reason is obvious. In the tem- 
perate zones, at least in the northern, the prevailing winds 
are from the west. Eastern shores, therefore, have their 



48 



SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 



winds chiefly from the land, and western shores enjoy the 
softer breezes of the ocean. As the winters are mild in the 
part under consideration, so are the summers. It is not 
often the fact that people here are willing to sleep without a 
blanket." 



TABLES REFERRED TO IN PAGE 41. 

At the suggestion of Professor Dewey, of Rochester, 
some interesting observations on the temperature of the 
waters of Ontario were made by Mr. William M'Auslan, the 
intelligent engineer of the steamboat Traveller, during the 
passages of that vessel between the City of Rochester and 
the Canadian shores. It will be seen that they furnish 
striking illustrations of the theory here maintained. 



1837. | May 15. 1 May 22. 



( Water 
MAir 
_ l Water 
2 \ Air 
. i Water 
3 $ Air 
. \ Water 
4 $Air 
_ \ Water 
5 J Air 
Water 
Air 
Water 
Air 

i Water 

I Air 

i Water 

} Air 

i Water 

I Air 

) Water 

I Air 

Winds. 



6 



9 



10 



11 



60 

63 

45 

63 

39 

44 

37i 

52 

37| 

48£ 

38 

54 

39£ 

55 

40 

54 

42 

55 

44 

55 

52 

54 



68 

66 

46 

77 

39 

44 

38 

40 

38 

41 

38 

39^ 

38 

40 

39 

44 

40 

45 

42 

49 

51 

54 



May 29, 

58~ 

64 

58 

57 

54 

55 

51 

54 

40 

52 

40 

54 

39 

44 



June 



63 

64 

60 

65 

58 

54 

55 

58 

42 

55 

40 

54 

40' 

50 

42 

55 

50 

62 

53 

63 

56 

64 



Aug. 7. 



Aug. 18. Sept. 4. Oct. 



73 
73 

70 
72 
69 
74 
68 
72 
64 
71 
64 
72 
65 
73 
66 
73 
66 
73 
66 
73 
63 
72 



Mean temperature 

Mean tempera- 
ture for 2 pre- 
ceding days 



N.W. |S.&S.W. 



159 159.3 

6 157.2158 



62.3 
59.6 



73 
73 

71 

70 

69 

78 

69 

74 

69 

71 

68 

72 

68 

69 

65 

65 

63 

64 

66 

66 

64 

78 

I s.w. & 

! N.W. 



63 
65 
63 
64 
60 
63 
58 
63 
57 
60 
58 
59 
59 
59 
62 
63 
64 
65 
64 
65 
64 
63 



47 
50 
52 
54 
54 
54 
53 
53 
54 
56 
54 
59 
53 
59 
52 
57 
52 
56 
51 
54 
52 
54 



Nov. 13. 

44" 
45 

46 
38 
46 
36 
44 
38 
45 
38 
45 
36 
46 
36 
47 
33 
46 
32 
47 
33 
45 
40 



74.3 j74.0 
62.5^8.3 



55.3 

56.50 



46.0 
46.6 



38.6 
46.5 



CLIMATE, SOIL, AND PRODUCTIONS. 49 

At the bottom of this table is given the winds for the day 
of observation, and the mean temperature of that day, and 
the mean temperature for the two preceding days at Ro- 
chester. 

The first observation was made just within the mouth of 
the Genesee, on leaving Rochester ; the second observation 
about half a mile from the mouth of the Genesee, where its 
waters are well mingled with those of the lake ; the nine 
succeeding were made about every six or seven miles, the 
last being at the landing at Cobourg, U. C., a place being a 
little west of north from Rochester, and about sixty miles 
distant. They were made upon water drawn from about 
one foot below the surface. It was found, however, by re- 
peated trials, that the temperature of the water at the sur- 
face, or at two or three feet below the surface, was not per- 
ceptibly different. 

The gradual change of the temperature of the lake from 
the shore towards the middle, from spring to September, 
is an interesting fact. Mr. M'Auslan, who possesses con- 
siderable scientific knowledge, remarks, too, that the di- 
rection and strength of wind carries the coldest portion 
nearer towards the shore in the direction of the wind. In 
August and September the temperature of the water was 
mostly the same from shore to shore. In October the water 
towards the shores had become decidedly cooler than to- 
wards the middle of the lake. The air on the lake is 
greatly affected by the temperature of the water, certainly 
when the water is much the cooler. In October the air and 
water became of nearly equal temperature, while the differ- 
ence was considerable during the preceding month. Finally, 
it is probable, says Professor Dewey, that the current of 
Niagara river is pretty direct through Lake Ontario, and 
that the accumulation of ice on Lake Erie, and its being 
heaped up and continued in the eastern part of that lake, 
often as late as May, must be in part the cause of the low 
temperature of the water of Lake Ontario, as shown in the 
table for the months of May and June. 

There is a passage in Professor Griscom's " Year in Eu- 
rope" which may be quoted as somewhat illustrative of the 
theory respecting the influence of the American lakes on 
the temperature of a portion of the surrounding country. If 
the influence of icebergs is perceptible to such an extent in 
the air and water of the ocean, the atmospheric effects as- 

5 



50 SKETCHES OF IfOCHESTER, ETC. 

cribed to our inland seas cannot seem exaggerated in the 
sight of reflecting observers. 

" The storm blew over, and the sails were again set be- 
fore sunrise," says Professor Griscom, in describing his voy- 
age across the Atlantic. "This being the first day of the 
week, and the weather having cleared up pleasantly, it was 
proposed to the passengers assembled on deck that one 
should read aloud for the benefit of the rest. This being 
readily assented to, we were proceeding to read a recent 
sermon of Dr. Chalmers, when a man at the masthead 
cried out, * An island of iee on the lee bow.' From the 
great change we had experienced in the temperature of the 
air and water, we had reason to expect the existence of 
floating ice at no great distance, and a good look-out was 
maintained for it. Mounted on the windlass, I could dis- 
tinctly see this island, like a white mass in the horizon. In 
a short time we approached it within a few miles. Its ap- 
parent height was forty or fifty feet, and its base on the 
water perhaps three hundred feet in length. It resembled a 
beautiful hill or prominence covered with snow. Its sides 
appeared to be perpendicular, so that the imagination could 
easily transform it into a castle of white marble, with its 
towers and turrets on the summit. It appeared, as far as 
we could judge by the eyes, to be immoveable ; but it was no 
doubt subject to the agitation of the waves. The breaking 
of the sea against it produced a spray which rose to a great 
height, and exhibited a splendid appearance. In the course 
of a few hours five or six other masses appeared, some of 
which we approached much nearer than the first. There 
was something of the terrific mixed with the grand in the 
emotion produced by the sight of these prodigious piles of 
moving ice, the greater portion of which must lie beneath 
the surface and be out of sight. Several vessels have been 
destroyed by running against them in the night. As the 
moon shone till midnight, and the wind was not high, the 
captain thought it safe to keep on his course ; but, under 
different circumstances, he would have taken in sail and 
lain to. If proper attention were always paid by navigators 
to the indications of the thermometer, it is probable that all 
danger from floating ice, at least in the passage between 
Europe and America, would be entirely avoided. The dimi- 
nution of temperature, both of the sea and air, in approach- 
ing those large masses, affords a sufficient warning of their 
proximity." 



CLIMATE, SOIL, AND PRODUCTIONS. 



51 



Such being the influence of icebergs in the open sea, it 
may be readily imagined that the effects of the great lakes 
in resisting congelation and mollifying the summer temper- 
ature must be very sensibly experienced (as a comparison 
of our meteorological tables with those kept in different lo- 
calities abundantly shows) in places situate like Rochester 
with reference to those fresh water seas. 



As an exemplification of the influence of the lakes on the 
temperature of the lower or northern parts of the Genesee 
Valley, we may refer to the Meteorological Tables showing 
the range of the thermometer, barometer, &c, for several 
years, as noted by Dr. E. S. Marsh, of Rochester. By a 
comparison with the average temperature in other places in 
the same or different latitudes, a clearer view of the result, 
and, consequently, of the climate, may be obtained. 

METEOROLOGICAL TABLE, 

Kept at Rochester for seven years, commencing January 1, 

1831. 

Synopsis of temperature, weight or pressure of the atmo- 
sphere, depth of rain and snow, temperature of the earth 
deduced from that of spring water, &c, &c. 





TEMPERATURE OF 


THE 


AIR. 






" Months. 


1831 
23 


1832 


1833 


1834 


1835 1836,1837 


Ave. tern, of 
mo. for 7 ys. 


January 


26.4 


31.4 


26 


30.1 27.6 24.1 


26.9 


February 


23.5 


26 


26 


37.5 


22.4 21.7 28.5 


26.5 


March 


41.8 


38.6 


35.4 


38 


35.5J29.7 


34.4 


36.2 


April 


47.5 


47.4 


52.5 


51 


44.8|44.8 


41.8 


47.1 


May 


59.7 


57.2 


62 


60.7 


59.8 58.5 


55.7 


59 


June 


71.6 


70.3 


62 


65.7 


65.9 


66 


65.8 


66.7 


July 


71.3 


74 


70.9 


76 


72 


72 


68.8 


72.1 


August 


71 


70.5 


68 


73.8 


68.7 


65 


67.9 


69.2 


September 


60.9 


62.8 


63.5 


65 


57.7 


61.3 


61 


61.7 


October 


51.5 


52.6 


49.5 


51.7 


53.8 


44.4 


47.6 


50.1 


November 


38.9 


41.5 


40.4 


40 


41.3 


38.9 


42.6 


40.5 


December 


19.5 


34.5 


34 


30.4 


28.5 


29.4 


32.1 


29.7 


An. Means 


48.4 


50.1 


49.6 


51.3 


47.5 


46.6 


47.5 


48.7 



The mean temperature for every day of the seven years, 
deduced from the above table, is 48.7, and may fairly be 
considered the true temperature of this locality. 



52 



SKETCHE OP ROCHESTER, ETC. 



It has been observed that the medium of the extremes for 
the year is a near approximation to the mean temperature of 
the place of observation. The extremes for the past seven 
years have been registered, and the subjoined table will 
show with how much truth the remark may be applied to 
this place. 



1831 
1832 
1833 
1834 
1835 
1836 
1837 



Months. 


Day. 

7 


Feb. 


Jan. 


27 


Jan. 


17 


Jan. 


4 


Feb. 


3 


Feb. 


2 


Feb. 


13 



Lowest temperature. 

4 below 
6 below 

4 above 
10 above 

3 below 

5 below 
2 above 



Months. 


Day. 


June 


3 


June 


25 


July 


21 


July 


9 


June 


11 


July 


19 


July 


13 



Highest temperature. 


95 above 


88 above 


91 above 


95 above 


90 above 


87 above 


88 above 



Medi. of ex. 

45.5 
41 
47.5 
52.5 

48.5 

41 

45 



The extremes of the registers, made at 10 o'clock, fur- 
nish a medium differing somewhat from the above, and are 
as follows : 



Tears. 


Lowest temperature at 10 o'clock. 


Highest temperature at 10 o'clock. 


Medi. of ex. 


1831 


Feb. 6, a.m. 2 above 


June 12, a.m. 90 abv. 


46 


1832 


Jan. 26, p. m. 4 below 


June 25, a. m. 88 do. 


42 


1833 


Mar. 2, p. m. 2 above 


July 24, a.m. 84 do. 


43 


1834 


Jan. 4, p.m. 12 above 


July 0, a. m. 86 do. 


49 


1835 


Feb. 7, p. M. 4 above 


July 19, a. m. 83 do. 


43.5 


1836 


Feb. 1, p. m. 2 below 


July 7, a. m. 82 do. 


40 


1837 


Jan. 2, p. m. 2 below 


July 1, a. m. 80 do. 


39 



It will be seen from these tables that the medium of the 
two extremes for the year differs widely in some instances 
from the true temperature, and in every year is too much at 
variance with the actual result to be relied upon. 

Our registers have been made at 10 o'clock, morning and 
evening ; and for the reason that these will in all cases give 
a mean daily range approximating nearer in the aggregate to 
observations made every hour, than two made at any other 
points of time. We have carefully noted, also, sudden and 
remarkable fluctuations, which are beginning to be quite too 
common and severe to pass unnoticed, the results of which 
will be presented on another occasion. 

Annexed is shown the temperature of the seasons, begin- 
ning with the spring of 1831, and a notice of early and late 
frosts for seven years. 



CLIMATE, SOIL, AND PRODUCTIONS. 



53 



1831 
1832 
1833 
1834 
1835 
1836 
1837 



Average 
7 years 



Spring mo. 


Summer mo. 


Fall mo. 


Winter mo. 


49.6 


71.3 


50.4 


25.4 


47.7 


71.2 


52.3 


23.9 


49.9 


66.3 


51.2 


30.6 


49.9 


71.7 


52.2 


29.1 


46.7 


68.8 


50.9 


27.5 


44.3 


67.6 


48.2 


25.9 


43.9 


67.5 


53.7 


27.2 


47.4 


69.2 


51.2 


27 



May 10 

May 24 

April 26 

May 15 

May 21 

May 13 

May 3 



Early frost. 



Sept. 30 
Oct. 15 
Sept. 10 
Sept. 28 
Sept. 29 
Sept. 29 
Aug. 4 



The frost of August, 1837, was not general in this section, 
and vegetation in this city was not interrupted until Sep- 
tember 20, ou which night it was more severe. 

The temperature of the earth, deduced from that of spring 
water, it has been clearly demonstrated, differs but slightly 
from that of the atmosphere. It will, however, be observed, 
that there is a want of correspondence in periods so short as 
that of a month, and for reasons obvious enough ; and hence, 
for a shorter time than one year, these observations can be 
of little use. There is, however, a popular error, that well 
or spring water (the terms are used synonymously) is warmer 
in winter than in the summer, which a reference to the fol- 
lowing table of registers, made accurately once a month, 
will correct. 



Month. 



January 

February 

March 

April 

May 

June 

July 

August 

September 

October 

November 

December 



1831 1832 183311834 1835 1836 1837 Average 



37 
36 

38 
42 
48 
52 
58 
60 
57 
54 
48 
40 



39 
37 
38 
41 
48 
50 
54 
56 
56 
53 
49 
44 



35 
37 

36 
41 
50 
52 
54 
56 
55 
55 
50 
42 



39 
39 
42 
45 
45 
49 
55 
59 
59 
53 
46 
41 



13 
40 
40 
40 
44 
51 
56 
54 
55 
56 
52 
50 



48 
46 
46 
46 
45 
50 
54 
54 
58 
54 
48 
42 



38 
41 
39 
41 
44 
49 
54 
59 
59 
54 
49 
44 



38.4 

38 

39.8 

42.2 

46.2 

50.4 

55 

56.8 

57 

54.1 

48.8 

43.2 



46.9 47.5 48.4 49.9 42.5 
i, deduced as 
by first table, 



Mean for a year 47.5 47 

Mean temperature for 7 years, deduced as above, 47.3. 
Mean temperature for do. K " £- ot *»m~ 
5* 



54 



SKETCHES OF R9CHESTER, ETC. 



The temperature of all large towns is higher than the 
country about them, or even their immediate vicinity ; owing 
in summer to the reflection of the sun's rays from many non- 
absorbing surfaces, and in winter to the existence in a small 
area of many fires. Hence the discrepance in the result of 
the observations made in the air and in spring water. 



BAROMETRICAL TABLE, 

Giving the mean monthly range of the Mercury for seven 
years. 



Month. [1831. 1832. 1833. 1834. 1835. 1836.11837. f£X 



January 

February 

March 

April 

May 

June 

July 

August 

Sept. 

October 

Nov. 

Dec. 



29.45 
29.70 
29.39 
29.38 
29.42 
29.53 
29.49 
29.61 
29.50 
29.54 
29.44 
29.49 



29.49 



29.56 
29.63 
29.44 
29.48 
29.51 
29.50 
29.50 
29.60 
29.54 
29.50 
29.51 
29.47 



48J29, 
38 29 



3729 
6029 



29.52 29.49 29.52 29.52 29.56:29.54 



60,29 
6329 
60 29 
6229 
5629 
56 29 
5429 
4329 
61J29 
55 29 
5l|29 
6029 



.43 

.48 
.65 
.44 
.49 
.43 
.48 
.54 
.67 
.69 
.59 
.57 



29.53 
29.58 
29.53 
29.48 
29.49 
29.47 
29.50 
29.52 
29.57 
29.56 
29.50 
29.55 



29.52 



Thus the average weight of the atmosphere in Rochester 
for the past seven years has been 29.52 inches for every day 
of that time. The fluctuations observed during the entire 
period have been less than 2 inches, to wit : 

March 9, 1831, lowest range, 28.40 

Jan. 13, 1834, highest do. 30.20— differ. 1.80 inch. 



RAIN AND SNOW. 



The following tables exhibit the depth of rain in inches 
for every month of the past seven years ; and also that of 
snow, measured in every case as soon as it ceased falling. 



CLIMATE, SOIL, AND PRODUCTIONS. 



55 



RAIN. 



Months. 


1831 


1832 


1833 


1834 


1835 


1836 


1837 


Average for 

months. 


January 

February 

March 


.3 

.5 

1.3 


.9 
.4 

.8 


1.4 
.1 


.3 

.5 

1.5 


1.3 

.8 
.5 


.5 


.0 
.5 
3 


.67 
.38 
.78 


April 


3.8 


1.5 


1.8 


2.2 


2.6 


3.6 


.5 


1.85 


May 


2.8 


4.3 


6.1 


.3 


1 


5.5 


3.5 


3.35 


June 


3.4 


1.2 


2.6 


1.9 


4.5 


3.6 


3.5 


2.95 


July 


5.4 


4 


3.8 


1.8 


1.8 


2 


2 


2.97 


August 


1.2 


2 


2 


1.8 


3.5 


1.8 


3.5 


2.25 


September 
October 


2.4 
4.2 


1.7 
2.3 


1.5 

2 


2.1 
3.4 


2.5 

5.4 


2.8 
3 


2.3 
4.4 


2.18 
3.42 


November 


1.6 


2.8 


1 


1.8 


1.5 


2.8 


3 


2 


December 




2.4 


1 


.5 


.5 


1.5 


2.5 


1.12 


Amount 


24.4 


24.3 


22.6 


18.1 


25.9 


27.1 


29.2 


24.5 



Average depth of rain in one year, 24.5 inches. 



SNOW. 



Months. 


1831 


1832 


1833 


1834 


1835 


1836 


1837 


Average fo» 
months. 


January 


15 


15 


11 


13 


7 


29 


16 


14.1 


February 


33 


29 


35 


9 


19 


16 


28 


24.1 


March 


5 


9 


7 


8 


16 


11 


3 


8.4 


April 


2 




1 


2 


9 


2 




2.2 


May 


6 






4 








1.4 


September 












1 






November 


3 


6 


8 


2 


7 


6 


8 


5.7 


December 


13 


13 


13 


14 


10 


9 


7 


11.2 


Amount 


77 


72 


75 


52 


68 


73 


62 


68.4 



Average depth of snow for one year, 68.4 inches. 
The amount of water contained in snow can only be as- 
certained by melting it, and must continually be varied by 
the temperature when it is falling. We will, however, sup- 
pose one foot of snow to contain .75 inches water ; this, 
added to 24.4 inches, the actual amount of rain in one year, 
presents the following result : 

From 68.4 inches snow, 4.27 inches water. 
Add annual depth rain, 24.4=28.67 inches. 



56 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

The amount of rain for the different seasons can easily be 
deduced from the above table. We will only add, that for 
the three months of October, November, and December, 
1837, the amount is 9.9 inches, which is 2.5 more than fell 
during the same period in any of the seven previous years, 
and more than one third above the average of the six pre- 
ceding. 

When it is observed that the temperature of Utica is oc- 
casionally 20° below 0, and of Albany from 20° to 40° be- 
low (as in January, 1835, when it was said that mercury 
was frozen in the air in some parts of the city), and the 
temperature of Rochester for the corresponding time is 20° 
to 30° warmer, as was verified by observations accurately 
made, the conclusion is irresistible that the lake operates as 
an immense heater upon the air in winter, and that our im- 
munity from such extremes depends in a great degree upon 
its immediate contiguity. 



ATMOSPHERIC PHENOMENA. 

In connexion with the remarks in the foregoing article 
upon the effects produced by our inland seas upon the 
temperature of portions of the surrounding regions, there 
may be appropriately introduced here some notices of At- 
mospheric Phenomena resulting from the reflection of the 
sunlight from those waters. On the latter subject there is, 
in a late number of the American Journal of Science and the 
Arts, an essay by Willis Gaylord, marked by the usual 
characteristics of that sagacious observer and excellent 
writer, for whose assistance in the preparation of the fore- 
going statements respecting the " climate, soil, and produc- 
tions," acknowledgments are rendered with pleasure. Mr. 
Gaylord is a resident of Otisco, Onondaga county, and is the 
principal contributor to the columns of the " Genesee 
Farmer," as well as a correspondent of various publica- 
tions, including Silliman's " Journal," from which the an- 
nexed extract is taken. In discussing the " Influence of the 
great lakes on our autumnal sunsets," Mr. Gaylord ob- 
serves — 



CLIMATE, SOIL, AND PRODUCTIONS. 67 

" Foreign tourists speak with rapture of the beautiful dies 
imprinted by autumn on the foliage of our American forests : 
our leaves do not fade and fall, all of the same decaying 
russet hue, but the rich golden yellow of the linden, the bright 
red of the soft maple, the deep crimson of the sugar maple, 
the pale yellow of the elm, the brown of the beach, and the 
dark green of the towering evergreens, are all blended into 
one splendid picture of a thousand light shades and shadows. 
To the observer, our autumnal woodlands are gigantic 
parterres, the flowers and colours arranged in the happiest 
manner for softened beauty and delightful effect. And when 
these myriads of tinted leaves have fallen to the earth ; when 
the squirrel barks from the leafless branches, or rustles among 
them for the ripened but still clinging brown nuts, the rural 
wanderer is tempted to throw himself on the beds of leaves 
accumulated by the wind, and, while he looks through the 
smoke-tinted atmosphere, half imagines that he is gazing on 
an ocean of flowers. 

" But the claims of our American autumn upon our admi- 
ration are very far from depending entirely on the rainbow- 
coloured foliage of our woodlands, unrivalled in beauty 
though they certainly are ; to these must be added the splen- 
dours of an autumn sunset, the richness of which, as we are 
assured, has no parallel in the much-lauded sunsets of the 
rose-coloured Italian skies. In no part of the United States 
is this rich garniture of the heavens displayed in so striking 
a manner as in the valley of the great lakes, and the country 
immediately east or southeast of them, and this for reasons 
which will shortly be assigned. The most beautiful of these 
celestial phenomena begin to appear about the first of Sep- 
tember, sometimes rather earlier, and, with some exceptions, 
last through the months of September and October, unless 
interrupted by the atmospheric changes consequent on our 
equinoctial storms, and gradually fade away in November 
with the Indian summer and the southern declination of the 
sun. Not every cloudless sunset during this time, even in 
the most favoured sections, is graced with these splendours ; 
there seems to be a peculiar state of the atmosphere neces- 
sary to exhibit these beautiful reflections, which, however 
often witnessed, must excite the admiration of all who view 
them, and are prepared to appreciate their surprising rich- 
ness. 

" On the most favoured evenings the sky will be without 



58 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

a cloud ; the temperature of the air pleasant ; not a breeze to 
ruffle a feather, and a dim transparent haze, tinged of a slight 
carmine by the sun's light, diffused through the whole atmo- 
sphere. At such a time, for some minutes both before and 
after the sun goes below the horizon, the rich hues of gold, 
and crimson, and scarlet that seem to float upward from the 
horizon to the zenith are beyond the power of language to 
describe. As the sun continues to sink, the streams of 
brilliance gradually blend and deepen in one mass of golden 
light, and the splendid reflections remain long after the light 
of an ordinary sunset would have disappeared. We have 
said that not every cloudless sunset exhibits this peculiar 
brilliance : when the air is very clear, the sun goes down in 
a yellow light, it is true, but it is comparatively pale and 
limited ; and when, as is sometimes the case in our Indian 
summers, the atmosphere is filled with the smoky vapour 
rising from a thousand burning prairies in the Far West, he 
sinks like an immense red ball without a single splendid 
emanating ray. It is our opinion that the peculiar state of 
the atmosphere necessary to produce these gorgeous sunsets 
in perfection is in some way depending on electrical causes ; 
since it very commonly happens, that after the brilliant re- 
flections of the setting sun have disappeared, the auroral 
lights make their appearance in the north; and usually, the 
more vivid the reflection, the more beautiful and distinct the 
aurora. This fact the numerous and splendid northern lights 
of last September, succeeding sunsets of unrivalled beauty, 
must have rendered apparent to every observer of these at- 
mospheric changes. Connected, however, with this state of 
the atmosphere, and co-operating with it, is another cause 
we think not less peculiar and efficient, and which we do not 
remember ever to have seen noticed in this connexion, and 
that is the influence of the great lakes acting as reflecting 
surfaces. 

" Every one is acquainted with the fact that, when rays of 
light impinge or fall on a reflecting surface, as a common 
mirror, they slide off, so to speak, in a corresponding angle 
of elevation or depression, whatever it may be. The great 
American lakes may in this respect be considered as vast 
mirrors, spread horizontally upon the earth, and reflecting 
the rays of the sun that fall upon them, according to the 
optical laws that govern this phenomenon. The higher the 
sun is above the horizon, the less distance the reflected rays 



CLIMATE, SOIL, AND PRODUCTIONS. 59 

would have to pass through the atmosphere, and, of course, 
the less would be the effect produced by them ; while at and 
near the time of setting, the rays striking horizontally on the 
Water, the direction of the reflected rays must of course be so 
also, and therefore pass over or through the greatest possible 
amount of atmosphere previous to their final dispersion. It 
follows that objects on the earth's surface, if near the re- 
flecting body, require but little elevation to impress their 
irregularities on the reflecting light ; and hence any con- 
siderable eminences on the eastern shores of the great lakes 
would produce the effect of lessening or totally intercepting 
these rays at the moment the sun was in a position nearly 
or quite horizontal. The reflecting power of a surface of 
earth, though far from inconsiderable, is much less than that 
of water, and may, in part, account not only for the breaks in 
the line of radiance which exist in the west, but for the fact 
that the autumnal sunsets of the south are inferior in bril- 
liance to those of the north. We have been led to this train 
of thought at this time by a succession of most beautiful 
sunsets, which, commencing the last week in August, have 
continued through the months of September and October, 
with a few exceptions, in consequence of the atmospheric 
derangement attending the usual equinoctial gales. 

" It will be seen, by a reference to a map of the United 
States, that from the residence of the writer (Otisco, Onon- 
daga Co., N. Y.), the lakes extend on a great circle from 
north to south of west, and, of course, embrace nearly the 
whole extent of the sun's declination as observed from this 
place. The atmosphere of the north, then, with the excep- 
tion of a few months, is open to the influence of reflected 
light from the lakes, and we are convinced that most of the 
resplendent richness of our autumnal sunsets may be traced 
to this source. The successive flashes of golden and scarlet 
light, that seem to rise, and blend, and deepen in the west as 
the sun approaches the horizon and sinks below it, can in no 
other way be so satisfactorily accounted for as by the sup- 
position that each lake, one after the other, lends its reflected 
light to the visible portion of the atmosphere, and thus, as 
one fades, another flings its mass of radiance across the 
heavens, and, acting on a medium prepared for its reception, 
prolongs the splendid phenomena. 

'* We have for years noticed these appearances, and 
marked the fact that, in the early part of September, the 



60 



SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 



sunsets are generally of unusual brilliancy, and more pro- 
longed than at other or later periods. They are at this 
season, as they are at all others, accompanied by pencils or 
streamers of the richest light, which, diverging from the 
position of the sun, appear above the horizon, and are some- 
times so well defined that they can be distinctly traced nearly 
to the zenith. At other seasons of the year, clouds just be- 
low the horizon at sunset produce a somewhat similar result 
in the formation of brushes of light ; and elevated ranges of 
mountains, by intercepting and dividing the rays, whether 
direct or reflected, effect the same appearances ; but in this 
case there are no elevated mountains, and on the most 
splendid of these evenings the sky is always perfectly cloud- 
less. We have marked the uniformity in the relative posi- 
tion of these pencils at the same season of the year for a 
great number of years ; and this uniformity, while it proves 
the permanence of their cause, has led us to trace their origin 
to the peculiar configuration of the country bordering on the 
great lakes. 

" At the time of year these pencils are beginning to be the 
most distinct, a line drawn from this point to the sun would 
bear at sunset about twenty-five degrees north of west, 
passing over the west end of Lake Ontario, the greatest 
diameter of Lake Huron, and across a considerable portion 
of Lake Superior. At this time, or about the first of Sep- 
tember, the streamers or pencils exhibit somewhat the ap- 
pearance shown in the following engraving : 




"Here A represents the place of the sun, some two or 
three degrees below the horizon B B. Fig. 1 denotes the 



CLIMATE, SOIL, AND PRODUCTIONS. 



61 



reflections from Lake Erie. 2, the comparatively dark space 
caused by the peninsula between Lake Erie and Lake St. 
Clair. 3 represents the reflected rays from St. Clair. 4, 
the non-reflecting peninsula between the St. Clair and Lake 
Huron ; and 5 to 13, the reflection from Lake Huron, broken 
into pencils by the elevated lands on the southeastern margin 
of the lake. 

" From considerations connected with the figure of the 
earth, the relative position of the sun and the lakes, the nature 
of reflecting surfaces, and the hills that it has been ascer- 
tained border Lake Huron on the east, it appears clear to us, 
that the broken line of these hills acts the part of clouds or 
mountains in other circumstances, in intercepting and divi- 
ding into pencils the broad mass of light reflected from the 
Huron, and thus creating those beautiful streamers that ap- 
pear in the north of west, and with which, as it were, the 
commencement of autumn and the Indian summer is marked. 
Farther to the south appears distinctly the break occasioned 
by the land that intervenes between the Lakes Huron and 
St. Clair, and this, as well as the one between the latter lake 
and Erie, is rendered more striking by the brilliant pencil 
streaming across the heavens from the St. Clair. The re- 
flected light of this body of water, insulated as it is by the 
shaded spaces in the sky, and separated from the glowing 
masses to the north and the south, is, throughout the season, 
one of the most striking and best defined objects in the west. 

" From the middle of September to the early part of Oc- 
tober, during which time the sun sets nearly in the west from 
this place, the appearance of the reflected rays is somewhat 
like the representation below. 




62 



SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC* 



" Here the letters and figures represent the same objects 
as in the former cut, and show that the cause of the pencils 
must be permanent, or such a change in their inclination 
would not take place with the declination of the sun. The 
reflections from Erie at this time rise in a broad unbroken 
mass a little south of west, while that from St. Clair occu- 
pies the centre, and the maze of pencils from Huron begin 
to blend and show nearly as one bod) r . As the sun returns 
still farther south, the light from Erie occupies a still more 
prominent place ; the column of light from the St. Clair in- 
clines still more to the right ; the breaks from the isthmuses 
of Erie and Huron become less distinct ; the reflections from 
the Huron are melted into an unbroken mass, the interrup- 
tion from the hills being lost in the oblique position of the 
pencils ; and the sun has scarcely time to leave this exten- 
sive line of reflection, before all these streamers and breaks 
are abruptly melted into the rich dark crimson that floats up 
from the Michigan or the mighty Superior. At the close of 
October or the first of November, the splendour of the heav- 
ens, though sensibly diminished, is at times very great, and 
the outline of the reflections presents the following appear- 
ance. 




2 34 



u The figures and letters are still the same ; and, taken in 
connexion with the southern declination of the sun, shows, as 
before, the fixed nature of the causes, and their relative po- 
sition to the observer. Lake Erie now fills up the foreground 
in the direction of the sun ; St. Clair is still distinct, and 
separated from Erie and Huron ; the hills which in early 
autumn were between us and the sun, and broke up the light 
ihrown from the Huron into such beautiful pencils, are now 



CLIMATE, SOIL, AND PRODUCTIONS. 63 

to the northward of any light reflected to us, if, indeed, they 
are not beyond the line of rays from the lake ; and the 
streamers from this source disappear from the heavens, not 
to return until, with another year and a renewed atmosphere, 
the sun is again found in the same position. Were there any 
elevated ranges on the peninsula of Michigan, we might 
reasonably expect that the reflected light from that body of 
water would be broken, as is the case from Lake Huron. 
But Michigan is too level to offer in its outline any such in- 
terruption ; hence the pencils must fade away with the dis- 
appearance of the sun from the line of the Huron, St. Clair, 
and Erie. It is possible, too, that, as the season advances, the 
atmosphere loses its proper reflecting condition, and renders 
it impossible for reflected light to produce the effects of Sep- 
tember or October. The electric change denoted by the fact 
that, in the region of the lakes, thunder rarely occurs after 
these phenomena become visible, and that these are usually 
accompanied or followed by the aurora, would seem to 
render such a supposition probable. 

" We have thrown out these hints, for we consider them 
nothing more, in the hope of directing the notice of other and 
more competent observers to the facts stated, and, if possible, 
thereby gaining a satisfactory solution of the splendid phe- 
nomena connected with our autumnal sunsets (should the 
foregoing not be considered as such), or should further ob- 
servations show that any of the above premises or inferences 
have been founded in error." 



With the facts before us respecting the climate as well 
as productions of Western New-York, we may not wonder 
at that enthusiastic admiration which led Gouverneur Morris 
to exclaim, in a letter to a British friend who urged him to 
reside in Britain : 

11 Compare the uninterrupted warmth and splendour of 
America, from the first of May to the last of September, 
and her autumn, truly celestial, with your shivering June, 
July, and August ; sometimes warm, but often wet ; your 
uncertain September, your gloomy October, and damnable 
November. Compare these things, and then say how a man 
who prizes the charms of nature can think of making the 
exchange. If you were to pass one autumn with us, you 
would not give it for the best six months to be found in any 
other country, unless, indeed, you should get tired of fine 
weather." 



GEOLOGY OF ROCHESTER AND ITS 
VICINITY. 



Few tracts of equal size present more interesting subjects 
of geological research than are contained within the City of 
Rochester. 

The boulders, the diluvium, the petrifactions, would alone 
furnish themes for exciting research, coupled with the vari- 
ous remnants of the mastodon which were lately upturned 
from the spot where they were probably deposited by the 
deluge that swept across this land. The cataracts of the 
Genesee, eclipsed only by the mightier flow of the Niagara — 
the Ridge-Road,* with geological features that furnished De 
Witt Clinton some data illustrative of the antiquities of human 
art — present attractions for the most superficial observer 
The appearances corroborative of the prolific theory concern, 
ing the ancient height of Lake Ontario, the excellent view of 
the structure of the earth through the depth of the ravine form- 
ed by the Genesee river ; and the extraordinary polished 
rocks, with surface silently demonstrating that their lustre 
resulted from the action of overwhelming floods across this 
region in long-gone ages — are amply sufficient to excite the 
enthusiasm of those whose minds have expanded in contem- 
plating the deep-reaching theories by which geology warns 
us to mark the changes which this world has undergone 
since issuing from the hand of the Almighty Architect. 

Imperfect indeed would be the account of Rochester 
which should fail to present the prominent features of its 
geological character. The connexion of the city with lake, 
river, ridge, and quarry, attaches vast interest to facts de- 
monstrative of the past condition as well as present state of 
the waters, the diluvium, and the minerals by which we are 
surrounded. Therefore is it that, in these brief sketches, 
efforts are made to acquaint the stranger with information on 
those subjects, touching which the intelligent citizen of Ro- 
chester must be supposed to have some knowledge. 

* See articles headed " Ridge-Road." 



GEOLOGICAL SKETCHES. 65 

The Rev. Chester Dewey, whose reputation as a geolo- 
gist requires no endorsement here, promptly complied with 
our suggestions in preparing some statements imbodying 
much information that may be interesting even to those most 
conversant with the important subjects of his remarks. 
His brief outline of the Geology of Rochester should be 
passed unheeded by no one who is desirous of familiarizing 
himself with the prominent features of the city. 

We may be pardoned for introducing here a passage from 
an essayist whose conceptions of the science of geology, 
beautifully expressed, are measurably exemplified by the 
earth and waters in and around our city. Let those who 
underrate the use, and dignity, and interesting character of 
geological research, mark well the assertions of this extract, 
and notice the exemplifications of their truth afforded even by 
the limited inquiries connected with the geology of Rochester. 

" It seems to be a very common opinion," says an essay- 
ist in the American Quarterly Review, "that the study of 
geology is dull, dry, and unattractive to all but the initiated 
inquirer, who has contrived to get enthusiastic in a kind of 
knowledge which, to the generality of men, presents a lower- 
ing and repulsive aspect." * * * * " We hear constantly 
of the sublime discoveries made by astronomy ; of the glo- 
rious mechanism which the anatomist with palpable distinct- 
ness places before our eyes ; and of the charms of that 
pleasing science which unrobes to our sight the internal 
economy and rich garniture of the vegetable world. The 
former is concerned with other worlds and the laws which 
bind them together, the latter with the countless forms of 
being which enliven the surface of our own ; while geology, 
without yielding to these in the high and noble character of 
its inquiries, shows us the worlds which have been, and 
traces the terrible revolutions of natuke which from 
time to time have ' rolled them together as a scroll,' leaving 
behind a few dumb but eloquent memorials to convey to 
coming ages the story of their existence. Like the ghosts of 
the guilty dead which passed before the eyes of Dante in 
the infernal regions, the shadowy forms, not of men, but of 
ages, pass and repass in measured procession before the 
steady gaze of the geologist, while he marks their character 
and reads their history. Geology carries us back to the 
very rudiments of our earthly habitation, while its scat- 
tered materials are yet destitute of form or consistence, and 

6* 



66 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

thence traces it upward through its successive approaches to 
order and beauty." * * * " Such are the scenes contin- 
ually presented to the view of the geological inquirer ; and 
we can hardly conceive that they should lose any of their 
interest with those whose minds are open to the majesty and 
wonder of Nature's works." 

GEOLOGY OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

The rocks of this vicinity form a part of that extended 
series which stretches from the primitive at Little Falls on 
the Mohawk to the shores of Lake Erie. This whole series 
across the state belongs to the transition class. Here the 
cataracts of the Genesee have exposed the rocks for some 
hundred feet in depth. A finer view of the structure of the 
earth to this depth cannot be desired. 

The strata are laid over each other with great care, as if 
the supraposition of them had been a matter of the special 
attention of the Great Architect. 

The varieties of the rocks and minerals are not very great, 
but they are very interesting. 

At the Ontario steamboat-landing (below the Lower 
Falls), the waters of the Genesee are on a level with Lake 
Ontario. The river is at that point 330 feet below Lake 
Erie, 266 feet below the Erie Canal in Rochester, and 240 
feet above the tidewater of the Hudson. The rocks may be 
classed under the following heads : — 

1. Red Sandstone. — At the level of the Genesee at the 
Ontario steamboat-landing lies a stratum of sandstone, 
whose depth below the water is unknown, and whose extent 
upward is one hundred and twenty feet. This is the salif- 
erous rock of Professor Eaton, because he believed it was 
the reservoir of the salt-springs in this section. A few years 
ago salt was manufactured from the waters of a spring in 
Greece, a few miles northwest from the city, and from 
another near the banks of Irondequoit Creek, a few miles 
northeast of the city. Both these springs were in this rock. 
The sandstone is here the lowest rock, and is of great ex- 
tent, reaching from Niagara river to the neighbourhood of 
Utica along the southern shore of Lake Ontario. Its colour 
is a dark reddish brown, containing portions which are gray. 
It is separated into layers of different depths by parts of a 
soft slaty structure, which rapidly disintegrate. This rock, 



GEOLOGICAL SKETCHES. 67 

according to Professor Eaton, lies next above the millstone 
grit, and is also near the transition graywacke. It is, 
doubtless, the old red sandstone of the English geologists, 
and lies far under the coal formation. If it is not the old red 
sandstone, it must belong to a still older part of the tran- 
sition series. In some minds this is probable, because it is 
thought to be below the old red sandstone, which lies in place 
under the coal in Pennsylvania and Ohio, and because the 
strata dip so much to the south and west both here and in the 
states just mentioned. From various surveys it is found that 
the coal at Pittsburgh is above Ohio River 329 feet ; 

above Lake Erie, 543 ; 

above Canal at Rochester, 617; 

above sandstone at Rochester, 761 ; 

above Lake Ontario, 883. 
The dip* would carry the sandstone far below the coal at 
Pittsburgh. Leaving this point to be settled by geologists, 
it should be remarked that the sandstone forms a wall for 
the banks of the river from the top of the Lower Falls, 
often precipitous or even overhanging the bed of waters, 
often retiring, and covered towards the bottom with the ac- 
cumulated debris of past days. Fucoides and other vege- 
table remains are found in the sandstone in great abundance, 
from about twelve to twenty-five feet below the upper sur- 
face. Splendid specimens of fucoides are obtained on split- 
ting open the strata. 

A part of this stone easily disintegrates, and seems to be 
a red marly slate ; none of it can endure the action of water 
and frost. The aqueduct of the Erie Canal across the Gen- 
esee River was built of this rock ; its arches have been for 
some years in a crumbling state, and cannot long withstand 
the action of those powers. (A new aqueduct is now in 
progress.) 

A stratum of gray sandstone, about four feet thick, called 
by Professor Eaton gray-band, lies directly upon the red 
sandstone. It forms a beautiful stripe in the banks of the 
river. At the Lower Falls the waters are precipitated di- 
rectly over this rock eighty-four feet, into the chasm where 
the river assumes the lake level. It appears to differ little 

* All the strata, while they appear to lie in horizontal layers, have 
an inclination or dip to the south. This is commonly more than one 
foot in a hundred, and less than one in eighty. In some cases it is con- 
siderably greater. The dip may be taken at about one foot in eighty- 



68 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

from the other sandstone except in colour, and portions of 
the same colour are diffused throughout the red. Both often 
slightly effervesce with acids. The gray seems to disinte- 
grate with rather more ease than the thick blocks of the 
other. It extends with the red sandstone several hundred 
miles, as stated by Prof. Eaton in his geological survey of 
the canal rocks, and is so similar in its character that it must 
be arranged with it. Both are somewhat argillaceous. 

Fine particles of mica often occur in the sandstone, bright 
and glistening ; but the quantity of mica in this part of the 
rock seems to be very small. 

The sandstone becomes more elevated as you descend the 
river from the Ontario steamboat-landing (at the north bound- 
ary of the city of Rochester), and soon the whole banks 
are of this rock. The distance from that landing to the 
junction of the Genesee with Lake Ontario is about five 
miles. Parts of the sandstone seem to rise into considerable 
elevations back from the river, so as to appear nearly as high 
as the rocks at the Upper Falls. West of Rochester the 
sandstone is still higher. About thirteen miles west, in 
Ogden, the canal is for a short distance upon the sandstone. 
This was remarked by Professor Eaton, and is clearly the 
fact. It does not, however, indicate any singular elevation 
of the sandstone ; for the canal is there near the Ridge- 
Road, along which this rock is much higher than at the 
steamboat-landing in Rochester. This is the true solution 
(as suggested by Mr. Hall, one of the state geologists) of 
the apparent rise of the red sandstone in Ogden. 

2. Mountain Limestone. — This is an extensive rock in 
Europe, and is composed of a varying series of slate, lime- 
stone, sandstone, gray wacke, marly slate, and shale. It em- 
braces the great beds of transition limestone, often semi- 
crystalline, and affording beautiful marble. It contains also 
abundance of encrinites, madrepores, productus, &c, and, 
in some parts of it, multitudes of trilobites. It rises often 
into mountain masses. It lies under and supports the great 
coal formation generally. On the Continent of Europe in 
some places it is wanting, and the coalfields are separated 
from the primitive rocks only by a thick stratum of sand- 
stone. In our series is a similar mixture and alternation of 
slate, limestone, gray wacke, shale, and sandstone, or quartz- 
ose limestone, and the same kind of petrifactions is abun- 
dant. It seems also to underlie the coal of the south and 
west. 



GEOLOGICAL SKETCHES. 69 

Professor Eaton has distinguished several of the strata in 
this great formation by particular names, which make the 
rocks a matter of easy reference. His ferriferous slate, ar- 
gillaceous iron ore, ferriferous sandrock, calciferous slate, 
or second graywacke, or lias, geodiferous limerock and cor- 
nutiferous limerock, seem to correspond to the various parts 
of the mountain limestone. They evidently alternate, and a 
part gradually pass into each other. This will be apparent 
in the examination of them. 

3. Argillaceous Slate — Marly Slate. — This is a soft, 
friable, green, argillaceous slate, breaking into small frag- 
ments with the least force. It begins directly above the 
gray sandstone, and rests upon it ; but it alternates with the 
other rocks, or occurs in thin layers between their strata. 
It rapidly disintegrates into a clayey soil on exposure to the 
elements. It sometimes effervesces slightly with acids. It 
is so easily reduced to earth that it seems to approach an 
argillaceous marl. As it alternates with the other rocks, it 
is sometimes much harder, and disintegrates with greater 
difficulty. There are two thick strata of this slate in the 
banks of the Genesee. The first and lowest rests upon the 
gray sandstone, and forms a beautiful green band at and 
below the Lower Falls and Steamboat-Landing. As it lies 
under the bed of iron ore, it was called by Professor Eaton 
ferriferous slate. At the Steamboat-Landing this stratum is 
about twenty feet thick : then it alternates with the lower 
layers of his ferriferous sandrock for three or four feet to 
the argillaceous iron ore, and continues to alternate in the 
same way above the ore, only each stratum becoming thin- 
ner for several feet. Its whole thickness from the gray- 
band to the iron ore is, in the banks of the Genesee, twenty- 
three feet. Petrifactions are not found in it till reaching the 
ferriferous sandrock, where are shells which leave their im- 
pressions in the slate. 

The second thick stratum of this slate begins sixteen feet 
above the iron ore, and is twenty-four feet thick. It is a 
part of the lower stratum of calciferous slate, or, rather, was 
not distinguished from it. The colour is a lighter green 
than that of the layer first mentioned, but it is precisely the 
same rock, and is often mistaken for the ferriferous slate 
below by those not familiar with the position of the several 
strata. A little more than half way up this layer of argil- 
laceous slate, and thirty-one feet above the iron ore, are two 



70 SKETCHES OP ROCHESTER, ETC. 

layers of petrifactions three or four inches thick each, and 
near each other, composed almost wholly of small pearly 
and beautiful terrebratulites. Sometimes are found near 
these two other very thin layers of the same shells. Among 
these petrifactions occur sparingly productus and trilobites. 
This layer of argillaceous slate forms a light green band in 
the steep banks above and below the Lower Falls. In it the 
trilobite is occasionally found, but of so fragile a texture as 
easily to fall in pieces. This slate forms the divisions be- 
tween the layers of calciferous slate above for at least a 
hundred feet. It is too widely diffused in the other rocks 
to be limited to one place, and is one of the alternating 
series of the mountain limestone. At the upper step of the 
Lower Falls, that part of this slate called the ferriferous 
passes under the incumbent rocks, forming about half of that 
precipice of twenty-five feet. 

4. The Argillaceous Iron Ore is a stratum about a 
foot thick in the banks of the Genesee, lying in the lower 
part of the ferriferous sandrock, and only separated from the 
body of green argillite below by some alternating layers of 
it and the sandrock. The ore has a fine reddish colour like 
bright Spanish brown ; hard like a rock, rather compact, 
tough, containing lenticular forms, and sometimes nodular 
masses, as if the ore had been partially fused ; often oolitic 
in its appearance. On exposure to the air it becomes darker, 
and is more frangible ; its powder has the same fine red as 
when it is first removed from its bed. This layer is very 
extensive, as it comes to the surface a few miles west of 
Utica (one hundred and fifty miles east of Rochester), 
where it supplies the furnaces of that part of the country, 
and is often a thicker stratum. It is found, too, in the same 
connexion several miles west of the Genesee. It is exten- 
sively smelted also in Wayne county, where it is three feet 
thick, and in other sections. It yields about thirty to thirty- 
three per cent, of iron. It effervesces with acids, and con- 
tains more than the sufficient quantity of lime for smelting. 
It might easily and profitably be manufactured into Spanish 
brown for paint, if there is any considerable demand for that 
article. 

This ore lies near the surface at the Landing at Rochester, 
and descends under the rocks at the Lower Falls, upper step : 
here it has been blasted through in two places in sinking 
the foundations of mills. The relations of the ore are here, 



GEOLOGICAL SKETCHES. 71 

thirty feet below the surface, exactly the same as at the 
Rochester steamboat-landing. 

Abundance of small petrifactions are in the ore. Many 
portions seem to be composed almost wholly of small petri- 
factions. Encrinites, pentacrinites, and shells abound in ir. 

This ore has been transported through the Welland Canal 
to Ohio for smelting to a small extent. Jt is a very valu- 
able deposite for this part of the state, and may be wrought 
to an indefinite amount. 

5. Ferriferous Sandrock — Eaton. — This extends from 
the iron ore upward about ten feet. The composition seems 
to be limestone and fine grains of quartz, making it a flinty 
rather than a sandy limestone. It is close-grained, com- 
pact, tough, forming excellent stones for building. It lies 
in strata of a few inches in thickness to that of a foot or 
more, separated by thin and hard or soft green argillite, 
and has been extensively quarried. It often contains much 
silicious slate, and forms a very hard rock, greatly annoy- 
ing those who are blasting it. One layer especially, from 
one to two feet thick, is chiefly silicious, and contains chal- 
cedony and cornelian in masses or mamillary forms. Sili- 
cious sinter is also in the cavities. In some parts of this, 
cacholong is diffused in all directions in veins. Loose 
pieces of this cacholong and silicious slate are found among 
the debris at Rochester, and have been borne with frag- 
ments of the red sandstone, in some great change of the wa- 
ters, some miles up the river. The source of these pieces 
was discovered in blasting through this rock at the upper 
step of the Lower Falls. It is a very well characterized rock. 
The surface of it lies just below the level of the railroad at 
the steamboat-landing, and the rock is seen in the bank to 
the top of the upper step of the Lower Falls, where it is the 
bed of the river, and where the Genesee falls over it. A 
part of this rock has a deep green colour, as if it was tinged 
by oxyd of copper. In blasting through it near the top 
of the upper step of the Lower Falls, pyritous copper, green 
carbonate of copper, and native copper were found, in small 
quantities indeed, in many specimens. 

Some petrifactions are found in this rock near the green 
argillite, and also in some of the strata above it. They are 
not so numerous, however, as in some other rocks. 

On this rock, about three feet above the iron ore, stood on 
the brink of the precipitous bank the abutment of the single- 



72 SKETCHES OP ROCHESTER, ETC. 

arched bridge which was thrown across the Genesee in 
1819, and which remained one day more than the year for 
which it was warranted to stand. (See account thereof in 
this volume.) 

This rock occurs also many feet above this position in 
layers alternating with the calciferous slate. Like the green 
argillite, it is not confined to one place. Indeed, the slate, 
and the sandrock, and the limestone appear to alternate 
irregularly for more than a hundred feet in depth. Such a 
fact shows that the rocks are to be taken geologically in ex- 
tensive series, and that the character of the series is to be 
the subject of attention as a whole. 

The several particular strata of the rocks already men- 
tioned, and which Professor Eaton designated by specific 
names, are seen in both banks of the Genesee from the 
steamboat-landing up the river. They form beautiful bands 
or stripes in the bank of as many different colours. The red 
sandstone and the gray pass out of sight at the Lower Falls. 
Above the last lies the ferriferous slate, next the red ar- 
gillaceous iron ore, and then the ferriferous sandrock — all 
of which are hidden from the sight at the upper step of those 
falls, in dipping under the calciferous slate. 

6. Calciferous Slate, or Second Graywacke — Eaton. 
— This rock is a thick and diversified stratum, and contains 
in it layers of very different rocks, which become, in as- 
cending, more bituminous. It reposes on the stratum of fer- 
riferous sandrock. At and below the steamboat-landing it 
is thin, and a portion has a slaty structure. It is the rock 
on which the collector's office stands. The argillite is found 
everywhere between the layers. At the lower part, and just 
twelve feet above the iron ore, it contains a layer from 
twelve to sixteen inches thick of petrifactions. Except 
some terrebratulites and cyathophyllit.es scattered through 
it, the layer is almost wholly a mass of pentemerus. At the 
Lower Falls (upper step), where the rocks have been blasted 
through even the argillaceous ore into the green argillite, 
this layer of petrifactions is here also twelve feet above the 
ore, and many beautiful masses of these petrifactions have 
been raised to the surface. Petrifactions of other shells are 
found in some of the strata a few feet above this ore. They 
seem to be terrebratulites. Indeed, petrifactions are com- 
mon through all the strata. Green argillite in thin layers, 
but harder and of a firmer texture, not so easily disintegra- 



GEOLOGICAL SKETCHES. 73 

ting, occurs between the lower strata of the calciferous slate. 
Here, too, occurs fine-grained graywacke, similar to that 
quarried at Troy, on the Hudson, but of a finer grain than 
that on the top of the falls, slightly effervescing with acids. 
Professor Eaton called all this stratum " Second Gray- 
wacke." At the top of the upper step of the Lower Falls, 
the calciferous slate forms the banks of the river, more than 
one hundred feet high, to the Middle Falls of 96 feet, and 
for a considerable distance above them. The stratum must 
be more than 150 feet thick. 

About six feet above the bottom of the calciferous slate be- 
gins the stratum of green argillite, about twenty-four feet 
thick, already mentioned, composed almost wholly of shells 
— small and beautiful. Some feet above these are several 
strata, one or two feet thick, of limestone, closely resembling 
the ferriferous sandrock. Then comes a looser calciferous 
slate, and then a blue slaty limestone, forty feet thick, in 
which especially the trilobites have been found, as Asaphus 
caudatus, with and without tails, like the figures of this spe- 
cies in Buckland's Geology, and often destitute of the head, 
and another species less common. The trilobites have been 
found also in the layers of small shells just mentioned ; and 
in the argillaceous slate under them, one specimen of Caly- 
mene Blumenbachii? Productus and orthoceratites occur 
also with the trilobites. The lower part of this stratum is 
decidedly calciferous — a limestone often of slaty structure 
lying in layers only a few inches thick. As you ascend 
towards the Middle Falls, it becomes nearly an argillite, 
strongly bituminous, resembling the more compact varieties 
of bituminous shale, and effervescing some with acids : as 
you come near the falls, it is perhaps fifty feet thick, and 
contains masses of gypsum, subcrystalline. As you ascend 
higher in the bank, you find more perfect calciferous slate, 
till near the top it becomes decidedly graywacke limestone ; 
tough, hard, fine-grained, with geodes of gypsum and quartz ; 
and forms the bed over which the waters of the Middle Falls 
(96 feet) are precipitated. 

The Falls of Niagara are 266 feet above Lake Ontario, 
and these Middle Falls of Rochester are 232 feet above the 
lake level. 

The bituminous shale below the Middle Falls is slowly 
breaking away and undermining this part of the graywacke 
limestone above. This stone is quarried to great extent at 

7 



74 SKETCHES OP ROCHESTER, ETC. 

the falls and above the canal aqueduct, for building stone. 
The bed of the river has been lowered several feet where 
the new aqueduct for the enlarged canal is now construct- 
ing. (The descent at this point is called the First Fall 
— water from which supplies many large mills, &c.) In 
splitting this rock last July, in a layer some feet below the 
recent bed of the river, and from which layer the incum- 
bent stone had just been removed, a large cavity nearly filled 
with pebbles was found. There were, perhaps, nearly six 
quarts of pebbles, of quartz, hornstone, limestone, sandstone, 
gray wacke, mica slate, &c. The cavity seems to have been 
worn smooth by the attrition of the pebbles, like the cavities 
in many rocks, and then to have been filled up by the com- 
mon pebbles of the banks. The workmen declare that the 
cavity was entirely covered by the solid rock ; so that the 
limestone must have been deposited from the water, and 
closed up the cavity. That the cavity was worn and filled 
long after the rock was formed, is evident from its appear- 
ance : besides, some fragments of recent shells were found 
with the pebbles. Some of the pebbles are two inches long, 
many an inch, and some very small. One fragment of the 
shells, part of a unio, is more than an inch long. 

The surface of this rock at the Rapids and at the falls, 
and many other places, is found to he polished, as will be 
more particularly noticed hereafter. On the western bank, 
in view of the Middle Falls, stand some of the mills and 
factories which captivate the attention of those who love the 
sound of untiring machinery, and which offer so beautiful 
a view in the fine drawings of the Falls by Mr. Young (of 
which engravings are included in this volume.) 

Below the Middle Falls are several springs of hydrosul- 
phuretted water issuing from the shale ; and occasionally in- 
crustations of gypsum cover the walls. A few rods below 
these falls, and about 70 feet perhaps above the river, is a 
spring of Epsom salt, which effloresces (as Professor Eaton 
remarks) upon the rocks. Fine specimens of the salt are 
easily obtained in dry weather in small crystals. The 
multitude of these springs in this part of the country seem to 
have their origin in this rock. 

In the graywacke limestone on the top of the Middle 
Falls are found the remains of vegetables, seaweed, or fucoi- 
des. A more delicate variety is found in the rocks at the 
upper step of the Lower Falls. In the fragments at the bot- 
tom of the Middle Falls are corallines, fucoides, and petrifac- 



GEOLOGICAL SKETCHES. 75 

tions in the form of a cross, whose sides contain an angle of 
about one sixth of a circle. Similar remains appear in the 
red sandstone as well as in this stratum. The graywacke 
limestone extends from the Middle Falls of the river to the 
head of the Rapids. 

At Mile-End, the residence of Derick Sibley, a mile 
west of the river on Buffalo-street, is an extensive quarry 
of the calciferous slate. Its layers are very uneven. I have 
seen a beautiful nerita which was found at this place. 

About the falls the banks abound with beautiful flowers. 
Adhering to the rocks below the falls is the rare pengui- 
cula vulgaris, Lin. On the banks are Houstonia ciliolata, 
Tor., penetemon pubescens, diervilla Canadensis, Muh., 
shepherdia Canadensis, Nutt., <fec. 

Along the banks in many places are large masses of cal- 
careous tufa. Occasionally it breaks off and falls below — 
the fragments are abundant. This mineral is constantly 
forming now by the deposition of limestone from the water 
filtering through the rocks. It is sometimes deposited on 
the mosses on the rocks. The vegetable decays and disap- 
pears, leaving the tufa in the form of the moss. Indeed, the 
people often call the mineral " petrified moss." The cal- 
ciferous slate contains many cavities or geodes of minerals, 
and seems verging towards the following stratum. 

Geodiferous Limerock. — Eaton. — This stratum only 
begins to show itself in the city. A thin layer of it lies 
near the surface at Mile-End, formerly Bull's-Head ; and it 
is found at the south up the river. Near the glue-factory, 
and half a mile east of the Genesee, the canal is cut through a 
portion of the geodiferous limerock, which extends eastward 
into Brighton, where it is more abundant and is very hard 
and dark, and strongly bituminous — the geodes containing 
calcareous spar, some filiate of lime, and porous quartz. It 
is here burned into excellent lime. Many of the cavities 
seem to contain some petrifactions, upon or around which 
the geodes of crystals have been formed. 

This rock is of great thickness at the south and west, 
forming no inconsiderable portion of the ridge through which 
the canal passes at Lockport. In this city it seems to be a 
very limited rock, extending only a few miles within or out 
of the city. The rock has a very rough, ragged appear- 
ance. It lies on about the same level with the Rapids. 



76 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

Section of the Rocks on Genesee River, from the Ontario 
Steamboat-Landing to the level of the Rapids. 

Dip south one foot in about 87 — series ascending. 

No. 1 is the sandstone containing fucoides — it is 120 feet 
thick at the Landing, and 80 at the Lower Falls. 

No. 2 is the grayband of Professor Eaton, 4 feet thick. 

No. 3. Argillaceous slate or marl slate, 23 feet thick. 

No. 4. Argillaceous iron ore, one foot thick, with various 
petrifactions. 

No. 5. Silicious limestone — ferriferous sandrock of Pro- 
fessor Eaton — 10 feet thick, with some shells. 

No. 6. Calciferous slate, having near the bottom of it the 
stratum of pentemerus, with some cyathophyllites — the 
whole six feet thick — also fucoides. 

No. 7. Argillaceous slate or marl slate, 24 feet thick, 
with some trilobites. The layers of terrebratulites lie in it, 
and are shown on the section by two lines in this number. 

No. 8. Silicious limestone, like No. 5. 

No. 9. Blue calciferous limestone, with trilobites 40 feet 
thick, and productus, and terrebratulites, and orthoceratites. 

No. 10. Layers of calciferous slate, thin and crumbling. 

No. 11. Dark argillaceous slate, with gypsum in nodules 
— under the Middle Falls is about 50 feet thick — bituminous. 

No. 12. The graywacke limestone is about 46 feet thick 
above the last to the top of the Middle Falls, and then con- 
tinues up the river about 50 feet thick — hard, compact, very 
bituminous — used to a great extent for building. 

No. 13. Geodiferous limerock lies on the east and west 
of the city ; contains geodes of calc spar, with various petri- 
factions, and some fluate of lime and sulphuret of zinc, 
four feet. 

The distance from A to B marks the height of the last 
step (84 feet) of the Lower Falls ; from B to C gives the 
ascent to the upper step of those falls ; D to E shows the 
height of the upper step of the Lower Falls, about 25 feet ; E 
to F shows the ascent up the river ; the distance from F to 
G is the height of the Middle Falls, 96 feet ; and G to H 
shows the ascent to the Rapids. The true proportions are 
not attempted to be preserved : it is evident that the several 
falls are much too small, and the slopes much too great. 
The height of the section involves the dip of the strata. 



GEOLOGICAL SKETCHES. 



77 




DILUVIUM. 

Sand and gravel are spread abundantly over the surface 
of the rocks under the proper and rich soil of the country. 
From Lake Ontario southward, this sand lies of various 
depths, and raised into hills of moderate elevation, giving a 
waving appearance to the surface. The rise near the flour- 
ishing seminary of Miss Seward in the eastern part of the 
city has been cut through, and the layers of sand and gravel 
beautifully displayed in their regular and undulating lines of 

7* 



78 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

fine and coarse gravel, as if the deposition had been made by 
the waving movement of a mighty deep. At a mile south 
of the city, the diluvium rises into an elevation of two hun- 
dred feet, called the Pinnacle ; and at a mile and a half south- 
east of the city the road to Pittsford is cut through a de- 
pression, and exhibits the same appearance as that already 
mentioned. 

The Erratic Groupe lies in and upon the diluvium. It 
consists of rolled masses and boulders of granite, gneiss, 
mica slate, hornblende rock, sienite, quartz, primitive serpen- 
tine, evidently transported from some region at the north, 
spread abundantly over the plains, accumulated on the north 
side of elevations, and affording full proof of the mighty 
power of a sweeping flood. One can hardly fail to imagine, 
as he stands among those ruins, that he hears the roar of the 
upturned ocean, while he sees the grinding effects which 
have been produced. In these boulders are found garnet, 
sulphuret of iron, schorl, &c. Many of these boulders are 
from two to four feet through : the largest that we have 
noticed is beside the railroad, a mile from Main-street, which 
is eight and a half feet long, eight feet broad, and three feet 
deep — a mass of granite, but chiefly feldspar. 

From seven to ten miles east of Rochester, the diluvium 
is heaped up into banks and rounded elevations from 50 to 
150 feet high along the Irondequoit Creek. All the strata are 
here cut through by the stream, but mostly covered over by 
the diluvium. It was on the bank of this stream, near Ful- 
lam's Basin, in the town of Perrinton, that the thigh bone, 
one large tusk, and two teeth of the fossil elephant, masto- 
don, were found in the diluvium, over which stood the aged 
trees of the ancient forest. A part of these remains are now 
to be seen in the Rochester Museum kept by Mr. Bishop. 
The discovery was made by Mr. Wm. Mann, while digging 
up a stump. The teeth were deposited about four feet below 
the surface of the earth. These were in a tolerably good 
state of preservation : the roots began to crumble a little on 
exposure, but the enamel of the teeth was in almost a per- 
fect state. 

In August, 1837, the remains of another mammoth were 
uncovered in excavating the Genesee Valley Canal, where 
it crosses Sophia-street, on Cornhill, in Rochester. The 
tusk, eight or ten feet long, and at least eight inches in di- 
ameter, was picked to pieces by the labourers, who supposed 



GEOLOGICAL SKETCHES. 79 

it was a white log of wood. The termination is preserved, 
a foot or more in length ; a rib and a part of a leg are in bet- 
ter preservation. A portion of the scull was also found. 
The skeleton was about four feet below the surface, and in 
and upon a dense blue hardpan ; the whole rested upon 
polished limestone. Other fragments of the bones of the an- 
imal have been dug up near the same place. 

Beds of sand for the formation of mortar are abundant in 
the diluvium. 

Clay for the manufacture of brick lies along the south part 
of the city, and extends eastward into Brighton ; it is still 
more abundant in the vale on the southeast side of the Pin- 
nacle, along the road to Pittsford. At a mile south of the city, 
a bed of clay is manufactured into brick to a great extent. 
It occurs under a foot of rich loamy soil, which is still in 
part covered with the original forest, and is only twelve to 
twenty inches thick. Immediately under it is a bed of fine 
white sand, as convenient as necessary for use in brickma- 
king. It seems to extend under several hundred acres. 
Brick-clay abounds in Rochester and its vicinity. 

DEPOSITES OF SAND. 

The deposites of fine sand, nearly pure silex, suitable in 
many places for the manufacture of glass, and extensively 
wrought in several towns in the middle of the state into this 
important material, is an interesting geological fact. That 
already mentioned in this city is only a poor specimen, and 
very limited, too, when compared with many others. The 
sand is covered by the natural soil, and then by a mixture of 
sand and clay, and is often only three or four feet below 
the surface, which is yet, in many parts, covered with dense 
forest. It appears to have been deposited by some great 
flow of the waters, and not to have been the result of a dis- 
integration of quartz rock like that (for example) which is 
found in Cheshire, Berkshire county, Mass. It seems to be 
only one more proof of that Great Deluge, of which the evi- 
dences are so abundant and complete, over a great extent of 
our country and of the world at large. 

POLISHED ROCK INTERESTING FACT. 

The surface of the rocks at Rochester is in many places 
polished, as if they had been worn and rubbed down by the 



80 SKETCHES OF 'ROCHESTER, ETC. 

friction of sand and stones borne over them. The surface 
of the geodiferous rock, through which the Erie Canal was 
cut about a quarter of a mile east of the Genesee, was found 
polished — thence north it has been found polished in several 
places to a point twenty rods below the Middle Falls. On 
the west side of the river, near the Bethel Church, the Erie 
Canal is on polished rock. At the depot of the Tonawanda 
(or Rochester and Batavia) railroad, and at three miles west 
of the city, the railroad was cut through polished stone for 
eighty to one hundred rods. The same has been found in 
several intervening places. At the Rapids a large surface 
polished has been laid bare this year (1837) in excavating 
the Genesee Valley Canal. In some places the polish has 
only begun — the hollows are passed over : in most it is very 
perfect. Lines or furrows are marked on the polished sur- 
face from northeast to southwest, as if great stones had 
been moved on it. On the east side of the river at Roches- 
ter, these lines are more nearly east and west. The polish 
has so manifestly been carried from one elevation to an- 
other, or over the hollows, that it removes all doubt of the 
artificial nature of the work. When it was done, and how 
it could have been done, are interesting inquiries. That the 
present earth and soil upon it was removed to its present 
position and deposited on the polished surface is certain. 
To make an adequate impression of the fineness of the 
polish on this limestone, it is only necessary to remark that 
it is fine and glossy like the artificial polish of marble. 
Professor Hall, one of the state geologists, found the pol- 
ished limestone at the west in Ogden and on Niagara River. 

ALLUVIUM 

Is scarcely to be discovered in this vicinity, so confined 
is the river within its high banks about Rochester. The 
west side of the river above the falls is much lower than 
the eastern side, and is raised but little above the river for a 
short distance. In some places the rock comes to the sur- 
face ; but generally it is covered for a few feet with the 
diluvium, which seems to have suffered but little from the 
alluvial action of the river. The ridge on which the 
"Ridge-Road" is placed is probably an extensive case of 
alluvium, formed long before those changes which the wash- 
ing of streams has produced. The Flats of the Genesee, 



GEOLOGICAL SKETCHES. 81 

which may be seen to the greatest advantage from the high 
land about Geneseo and Mount Morris, are beautiful allu- 
vium. 

RIDGE-ROAD. 

The Ridge-Road, which is two miles north of the city, 
lies along an elevated deposite of sand and gravel, or water- 
worn pebbles. By many it is considered as the former 
shore of Lake Ontario. From Lewiston on Niagara River 
to Rochester it is a palpable elevation, forming a most ex- 
cellent position for the great western road. It is elevated 
about 150 feet above the lake, and lies in a very direct line, 
distant from four to six miles from the shore. It extends, not 
always with the same distinctness, to the eastern boundary 
of Lake Ontario ; and at Adams, in Jefferson county, is con- 
founded with an elevation about 300 feet above the lake, or 
150 feet higher than at this city. There is a gradual descent 
from its base, which is depressed often suddenly from six to 
fifteen feet towards the lake. As the name implies, there is 
a depression on the south side of nearly the same depth as 
on the north side, and often extending to a considerable dis- 
tance. In many places the Ridge-Road is only an elevation 
of a [ew rods in width, and nearly equal on both sides, but 
continues much farther and descends more towards the 
lake. Professor Eaton attributes this ridge to the outcrop- 
ping of the red sandstone, which has not so readily disin- 
tegrated where it comes to the surface. The ridge lies in- 
deed along the northern limit of the sandstone, which crops 
out sometimes north and sometimes south of it, and is often 
penetrated into in sinking wells upon it. But it is plain 
that the ridge is a different deposite from that which occurs 
close by it and on both sides of it. The sand and pebbles 
are peculiar ; not a disintegration, but rolled and deposited 
by water. The remains of trees and vegetable matter are 
often found twelve to sixteen feet deep. We have part of 
a tree, of the white cedar, recently dug out sixteen feet be- 
low the surface in a well in Greece, about five miles west of 
the Genesee. A nearly pure vegetable mould, half an inch 
thick, was also thrown up, which lay upon a bed of fine 
white sand like that of the lake shore. That the ridge has 
been heaped up by water there cannot be a doubt; or that 
the lake once, and not for a long period, washed its northern 
side. The ridge is often cut through by small streams. 



82 SKETCHES OF- ROCHESTER, ETC. 

which discharge the waters of the southern side into the lake. 
In some places at the west of this it has been artificially 
cut through, for the purpose of draining more rapidly the 
low lands of the south side. A similar ridge is said to exist 
to some extent on the north shore of Lake Ontario ; also 
on the south side of Lake Erie in Ohio, and again along a 
part of Michigan. 

There seems reason to believe that the waters once ex- 
tended over a great part of this state ; that a portion of the 
eastern barrier at Little Falls, east of Utica, where are the 
traces of the action of water at a level nearly or quite equal 
to that of Lake Erie now, was broken away, so that the 
waters sunk to a considerably lower level ; that thus the 
waters of Lake Ontario covered a large tract of country to 
only a moderate depth ; that probably the heaping up of 
ice on these shallow levels laid the foundation for the accu- 
mulation of gravel and sand, which were increased in suc- 
cessive years until the ridge was formed ; that the depres- 
sion should take place on both sides in this way is consist- 
ent with what now actually takes place in the formation of 
sandbanks in places along the shore. [See Note at the 
conclusion of this article.] Thus the natural operation of 
an adequate cause — of a cause easily comprehended, may 
have raised this ridge, and the waters have extended through 
the openings for the streams on the south of it. At length, 
by the bursting of the barrier on the St. Lawrence, the wa- 
ters subsided to a still lower level, and Lake Ontario sunk 
to its present dimensions. 

The apparent elevation of the ridge in Adams, already 
mentioned, may seem to form a strong objection to the 
cause now assigned, and to render more probable the up- 
heaving of the strata below, as in the case of many banks 
already mentioned by geologists, by the action of a power 
beneath, such as subterranean fire, or crystallization of the 
rocks, or both. 

It is to be considered that this ridge is much newer or of 
much later formation than that of the diluvial hills and sand- 
banks of this country. This is proved by the existence of wood 
and vegetable matter near its bottom, which have not yet 
been discovered in the diluvial sandbanks near this ridge. 
The difference between the earth of the ridge and the earth 
on both sides of it, proves that it is no upheaving of the 
earth which has been its cause. And, in respect to the 



GEOLOGICAL SKETCHES. 83 

great apparent elevation of the ridge in Adams, it is proba- 
ble that there the ridge joins, as it often does along its 
course westward, upon the diluvial hills which were left at 
a much greater elevation. Thus, had the Ridge-Road pass- 
ed by a natural juncture of the ridge with the Pinnacle near 
Rochester, the elevation there would have been a great ob- 
jection to the supposition that this ridge once limited the 
waters of the lake, while, in truth, such a union would have 
been perfectly consistent with the operation of the cause 
now assigned. The high elevations of sand in Adams are 
probably the hills produced by diluvial action, and the ridge 
is united to them by a line which has not yet been traced, 
and may not ever be discovered. In support of this origin 
of the ridge, it is worthy of consideration that the waters of 
only a small part of the surface of Lake Ontario are frozen 
over in the winter. At the mouth of the Genesee, and on 
each side of it for a long distance, the lake is frozen only 
for a little way, and the ice is broken in pieces and dashed 
upon the shore by the winds and waves every few days. 
At the western part its waters are frozen for many miles. 
In 1835-6, the steamboat Traveller ran through the winter 
from Niagara to Toronto, across the lake in a direct line 
thirty-six miles. In March of that winter, the ice once cov- 
ered the whole distance, and was broken through by the 
boat. On the return of the boat the water was found frozen 
again in the passage, but only half an inch thick. But this 
is a rare occurrence : it now took place in a very cold win- 
ter, and when the waters had been unruffled by winds for 
some days, or, as the engineer of the boat remarked, " du- 
ring a calm." So great is the depth of the lake, having 
been sounded at the depth of three hundred feet in some 
places (which is lower than the surface of the ocean), that 
only partial congelation can take place. When the waters 
stood at a higher level, this would be the case ; but, owing 
to the moderate depth of the water for several miles, a 
greater quantity of ice and of greater thickness would be 
formed, which, being dashed up by the winds and waves, 
would form a natural foundation for the deposition of sand 
and gravel, which ultimately produced the ridge. And, 
finally, the nearly direct line of the ridge at nearly the same 
distance from the lake (yet not following the tortuous course 
of the shore, and lying on land so nearly of the same level), 
gives great probability that the real formation of the ridge is 



84 SKETCHES OP ftOCHESTER, ETC. 

now understood. It is not, indeed, a new theory exactly 
but a modification or expansion into a definite form of one 
that often is advanced by those who have lived upon the 
ridge, and made it a subject of careful examination. 

Note. — Connected with the foregoing theory, which was 
furnished to us by Professor Dewey several months ago, we 
may here introduce some remarks by a traveller who re- 
cently examined the ocean dikes in Holland. It is for the 
reader to determine the extent to which these remarks may 
be considered as strengthening the theory advanced with ref- 
erence to the formation of the great dike or ridge along the 
shore of Ontario, &c. It may be premised, however, that 
the latter is not barren like the formation in Holland. The 
traveller, recounting his adventures in Holland as illustrative 
of some opinions which he expressed concerning certain ge- 
ological appearances on the western prairies, says, through 
Silliman's Journal : — 

" Having entered Holland at its northern border, and passed 
on to the seaboard, I determined at some spot along the 
coast to examine the natural dikes throvm up by the sea, of 
which I had no very definite idea. I had never met with any 
detailed account of them, and supposed them to be a strip of 
sandbank washed up by the waves, eight or nine feet high 
and about twice as wide, on which a person might walk and 
look directly down on the sea on one side, with the meadow- 
land immediately adjoining on the other. 

" Soon after leaving Leyden for the Hague, I turned from 
the thronged highway, and, after crossing a rich cultivated 
district of two miles in width, found myself at the edge of 
the ocean dike. But it was far different from what I had 
anticipated. I saw, on approaching it, that it was much higher 
than I had supposed, and, when I sprung up the side of the 
huge bank, instead of having the North Sea directly at my 
feet, I saw before me what seemed as if it had been an ocean 
of fluid sand (if I may use so unphilosophical a phrase), ar- 
rested suddenly after a storm and set at rest. Having en- 
tered upon it, I was soon in as entire and dreary a solitude 
as if I had been on the burning deserts of Africa. Not an 
insect crossed my path, and I wandered on from sandhill 
to sandhill till I grew weary of the labour. Only at one 
place was there any sign of vegetation. It was at a spot 
where, for some cause or other, a basin had been form- 
ed capable of retaining moisture, and in this some grass and 



GEOLOGICAL SKETCHES. 85 

a variety of bushes had grown up. All the rest was a 
succession of sandhills. I crossed this dike transversely, 
but computed its direct breadth to be at least two miles. 
The hills of sand I judged to be from thirty to fifty feet in 
height. 

" As I walked on, the strong resemblance between the 
surface of this place and that of the wooded region in the 
* barrens' of our prairies struck me repeatedly and forcibly. 
I had here also the commencement of a little lake or prairie, 
and they appear also to be both composed of the same 
material, a pure sand. I had often, while out in Indiana, 
been puzzled in attempting to account for what I saw there, 
and now a theory flashed upon me, with which I amused 
myself while toiling over the sands. But I began this letter 
by saying that I was only going to state facts, not theories ; 
and, indeed, I soon became glad to shorten my speculations 
and make for the nearest point of the coast, for I found the 
hills of loose sand sometimes terminating with a perpendic- 
ular face, down which, if I had happened to stumble, I should 
have brought a torrent of sand after me, sufficient to bring 
my speculations and myself to an untimely end. I was 
really glad when the North Sea, covered with white caps, 
and studded with numberless sails, burst upon my sight. 

" It is easy for a person walking along the shore to see 
how this broad belt of sandhills has been formed. The 
coast is shoal, and the waves wash up the light sand, which, 
as soon as it is dry, is caught up by the wind and whirled 
into the piles ivhich have been just described. 

" Abreast of the Hague is an opening or cut through this 
bank, apparently partly natural and partly artificial. It is 
about fifty feet wide, is level, and planted with an avenue of 
noble trees, and forms the communication between this city 
and its little seaport, Schefeningen, if seaport that can be 
called, where port there is none, and where vessels that 
would be safe must be drawn high and dry upon the beach. 

" I will only add that, as I came down the banks of the 
Rhine, I passed at Eitenberg a very high ridge of sand, ex- 
tending, it appeared to me, across the valley of that river. 
After entering Holland I crossed also, just south of Arnheim, 
another such a sandy ridge running from east to west, but 
much wider than the former, being about fifteen miles across. 
Then we came again to low flat land, and, lastly, to the 
sandy strip or dike at the coast. Query. — May not the 

8 



86 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

shore of the North Sea have been in remote times at Elten- 
berg, and then again near Arnheim, and those two belts thus 
also have been ocean dikes ?" 

The quotation of these remarks here will hardly be con- 
sidered irrelevant by those who are anywise interested in 
examining the geological phenomena of the country of the 
lakes, especially the formation of the ridge which runs past 
the northern boundary of the City of Rochester. 

Some interesting speculations on the geological features 
of the Ridge-Road, as connected with the antiquities of the 
country, from the pen of De Witt Clinton, are imbodied in 
another article respecting that wonderful natural highway. 

TRANSPORTATION OF BOULDERS. 

This subject is one of considerable difficulty in the ap- 
prehension of the generality of people. It is often heard 
with a look of the fullest incredulity, as if the individual 
would, if he knew it, utter the language of Horace, Credat 
JudcBus Apella I As a fact, its possibility is often denied ; 
and yet, as a fact, it has long received the fullest credence of 
the whole class of geologists, including a host of the most dis- 
tinguished philosophers of all religious opinions for more than 
half a century. The reason is, that the appearances lead to 
this conclusion. It is only want of knowledge of facts that 
continues a momentary doubt in any minds. To such, the 
evidence of the transference of rocks of no ordinary size, and 
in abundance, from the Alps to the Jura Mountains, and 
about the Lake of Geneva, so fully shown by geologists, 
needs only to be known. To this might be added the boul- 
ders of graywacke borne from the eastern part of this state 
into Massachusetts over the separating range of mountains, 
and a multitude of others in our country and Europe, un- 
doubted by all who have examined them. 

Boulders of the primitive rocks lie scattered over this 
state and far to the west. No layers of rocks like them are 
found for a great distance. The supposition of their for- 
mation in the places where they lie cannot find any support. 
They must have been transported from distant regions. 
Their rounded and worn form shows the attrition of the 
tumbling waters and rolling sands. How could they have 
been removed? Though the difficulties of the subject may 
not be all removed, and the action of a cause operating 



GEOLOGICAL SKETCHES. 87 

with more power than we are familiar with may be judged 
necessary, yet the following considerations may lessen 
these difficulties in some degree. Currents of water act 
with great power. The flood of a river has moved along 
large rocks of some tons weight many rods in a day. 
Deeper currents would have a greater effect. Ice occasion- 
ally transports masses of stone down the streams. Again, 
the specific gravity of these rocks is little more than twice 
that of water. Nearly half the weight of rocks would be 
supported by the upward pressure of fresh water, and more 
still by that of salt water — giving great advantage to the 
action of powerful currents. Here is a mighty power, ade- 
quate to the production at least of great effects. The power 
of water and ice operating on a great scale would seem to 
be amply sufficient for the transference of these boulders. 
A large boulder of granite has been mentioned. Some as 
large, and one a little larger, are in the east part of Ogden, 
seven miles west of Rochester. Near the same place is a 
large boulder of saccharine limestone, the only consider- 
able mass of this rock which has occurred to me. More 
than one hundred feet up the Pinnacle, a little southeast of 
Rochester, lies a boulder of graywacke of great size, ten 
and a half feet long, ten feet wide, and three to four feet 
deep. 

RETROCESSION OF THE FALLS. 

Very little change in the Falls of the Genesee at Roches- 
ter has been observed since the settlement of the place. 
The ferriferous sandrock over which the water of the upper 
step of the Lower Falls is precipitated, is one of the hardest 
rocks of this stratum. It is certainly as hard as the graywacke 
limestone of the Middle or Upper Falls. The gray sand- 
stone over which passes the water of the Lower Falls at the 
last pitch, is not so hard, perhaps, as the rock at the other 
falls : still, it seems to be very slowly worn away. The 
suggestion in the Geological Report of 1836 (page 170) 
made to the Legislature of the State, that the three falls of 
the Genesee at Rochester will ultimately become one, may 
possibly be found true ; but the union must unquestionably 
be placed at so remote a period, that men of business and 
enterprise need not make its probability an element in their 
plans or calculations for hundreds of generations. To those 
who believe that the Genesee has cut its way for so many 
miles through the rocks in a nearly perpendicular chasm, it 



88 SKETCHES OP .ROCHESTER, ETC. 

would appear that thousands of years must roll away before 
the junction of the Lower and Upper Falls will occur. 

CARBONATE OF SODA. 

This salt effloresces on the walls of the Genesee, about 
midway between the falls, under the high bluff and over- 
hanging rocks of the east bank, in Rochester. It exudes 
from the rocks a few feet above the layers of pearly terre- 
bratulites in the marly slate, and appears for several rods, 
where the jutting rocks protect it from being washed away 
by rains. This salt has much interest, as it directs us to 
one source of the common salt in our springs. The waters 
abound with muriate of lime, which would be decomposed 
by the carbonate of soda, and common salt be formed. The 
efflorescence occurs in greatest abundance in the rocks just 
below the limestone in which the trilobites are found most 
plentifully. 

MINERAL SPRINGS. 

Besides those mentioned in the account of the rocks, these 
springs occur with frequency. 

The Monroe Spring, about five miles east of the city, 
owned by Mr. Tousey, is well known. It is strongly im- 
pregnated with sulphuretted hydrogen, and seems to possess 
few other mineral properties. In the town of Ogden, eleven 
miles west of Rochester, is another hepatic water, very 
strongly impregnated with the same gas. It was found in 
deepening a well. The blasting was continued in the rock 
of calciferous slate or gray wacke limestone. In a few hours 
the water becomes milky from the deposition of sulphur. 

About a mile west of the city is a similar water, used also 
as a bathing establishment. Often, in that direction, hepatic 
springs occur. The well-known Bathing-House in Buffalo- 
street, Rochester, is supplied from one of these springs. 
The sulphuretted gas has nearly disappeared from it, from 
some change in the direction of the waters beneath the sur- 
face. It is often resorted to for the luxury of bathing. But 
the principal mineral water in the city flows from the 

LONGMOOR SPRING. 

The Messrs. Longmoor, to obtain a supply of water for 
their brewery, bored nearly 200 feet. They began in the 
graywacke limestone on the east bank of the Genesee, about 
fifteen feet above the level of the Middle Falls, and extend- 



GEOLOGICAL SKETCHES. 89 

ed the boring through the strata into the sandstone. They 
obtained water strongly impregnated with sulphuretted hy- 
drogen, and containing considerable common salt, and some 
Epsom salt and soda. These substances give to the water 
a pleasant taste, lively and pungent. The water is drank 
for health and pleasure. It is cool also, and in the warm 
season is a real luxury to those who relish its taste. In April 
its temperature was 48°, while that of the river was 41° 
in June, " " 49£°, " " 67° 

in July, " " 50°, M " 67° 

Aug. 2, " " 52°, " " 71° 

Nov. 30, « " 51 T Vi " " 45 c 



;o 



ELEVATIONS. 

The following table of elevations of different points may 
be interesting in connexion with the foregoing statements. 
The facts have been taken from the surveys of the proposed 
routes of canals and railroads. Some of them have been 
obligingly communicated from the unpublished notes of the 
engineers — some have been ascertained specially for this 
work. 

Feet. 

Lake Erie is above the level of tide water, . . . 570 
The top of Niagara Falls is below Lake Erie, . 66 
The bottom of Niagara Falls is below Lake Erie, 226 

Descent from the Falls to Lewiston, 104 

Lake Ontario below Lake Erie, 330 

Canal at Rochester is below Lake Erie, ... 64 
Surface of the Canal at Rochester is above the 
rock over which the waters roll at the Mid- 
dle Falls, 31 

Middle Falls (96 feet) at Rochester are below the 

Falls of Niagara, 23 

Top of the Rapids, 1^ miles south of Rochester, 

above Erie Canal at Rochester, .... 2 
The summit of the Rapids and Niagara Falls are 

on a level. 
Erie Canal at Rochester is above Lake Ontario, . 266 
Middle Falls at Rochester above Lake Ontario, . 235 
Middle Falls at Rochester pitch perpendicular, . 96 

Upper step of the Lower Falls, 25 

Second step of the Lower Falls, 84 

Summit level of Genesee Valley Canal is 11 i 
8* 



90 SKETCHES OF .ROCHESTER, ETC. 

miles long, and above Erie Canal at Roches- Feet. 

ter, 1057 

Summit level of Genesee Canal above Lake Erie, 993 
Allegany River at Olean, above Canal at Roches- 
ter, 978 

Ohio River at Pittsburgh is below Olean, from 

Olean to Pittsburgh being 280 miles, . . . 700 

Ohio River above canal at Rochester, .... 278 

Ohio River above Lake Erie, 214 

Coalbed at Pittsburgh above Ohio River, . . . 329 

" " above Lake Erie, . . . 543 

" •« above Canal at Rochester, 617 

" " above Lake Ontario, . . 883 

Ohio River at Little Beaver River, near the west 

line of Pennsylvania, is above Lake Erie, . 75 

Coalbed near Little Beaver River above Lake Erie, 412 

Elevation of the hill above the coal, 80 

Elevation of this coal above the Canal at Rochester, 476 
Height of the red sandstone above the level of 
Genesee River at the Ontario Steamboat- 
Landing, in the north part of Rochester, . . 120 
Thickness of gray sandstone or grayband, ... 4 

M ferriferous slate, 23 

" argillaceous iron ore, 1 

" ferriferous sandrock, 10 

" calciferous slate to the rock of pente- 

merus, 3 

" " " to the next layer of 

argillaceous slate, 3 

" argillaceous slate to the layers of fine 

shells, 15 

" whole thickness of this argillaceous 

slate, 24 

" calciferous slate to top of Middle 

Falls, 112 

" " " to level of Rapids, 33 
Height of east bank of Genesee, 50 rods below 

Lower Falls, 215 

Thickness of mountain limestone, from the gray 
sandstone at Lower Falls to the summit of the 

Rapids, without allowing for the dip, is . . 184 

The dip for this distance about 200 

Real thickness of the mountain limestone to the 

Rapids, about 384 



MEDICAL TOPOGRAPHY, &c. 



The influence which the improvement of the country has 
exerted upon the health of the people is remarkably exem- 
plified in the history of Western New- York. The diseases 
of the " Genesee country" have been strikingly modified or 
almost wholly changed in some respects within the last 
quarter century. So great has been the change, that some 
persons remote from the scene may be inclined to doubt the 
existence of the phenomena, unless presented with conclu- 
sive proofs. 

A brief retrospect of the maladies of the population, from 
the period of the first settlements by the White Man, may be 
appropriately inserted here, for the convenience of reference, 
and for the illustration which it abundantly furnishes of the 
foregoing assertions. In quoting the testimony of Doctors 
Coventry and Ludlow — both of whom were formerly resi- 
dents of Geneva, though the first-named has long resided 
in Utica, and the latter in New-York — reference is made to 
the discourse delivered by Dr. C. before the Oneida Medical 
Society, of which he was president, in 1823, and to the Es- 
say on the Genesee Country published by Dr. L. in the 
New- York Medical and Physical Journal during the same 
year. 

" On the 7th of June, 1792," says Dr. Coventry, " I ar- 
rived with my family at my former residence near the outlet 
of Seneca Lake, opposite to the village of Geneva. * * * 
The seasons of 1793 and 1794 were very sickly in the Gen- 
esee country in proportion to the population. There was 
a much greater number of cases of fever than in the cities, 
although they were not so fatal in their termination. I re- 
member a time when, in the village of Geneva, there was 
but a single individual who could leave her bed, and for sev- 
eral days she alone, like a ministering angel, went from 
house to house, bestowing on the sick the greatest of all 
boons — a drink of cold water. During the season last men- 



92 SKETCHES OP ROCHESTER, ETC. 

tioned, dysenteries occasionally appeared, preceding or fol- 
lowing, and sometimes alternating with the fever. In 1795 
no rain fell either in June or July — the waters in the lakes 
lowered more than a foot — every little inlet became a seat 
of putrefaction — the heavens seemed on fire, the earth 
scorched, and the air saturated with pestilence — the hogs 
were found dead in the woods, the flies swelled and turned 
white, and lay in handfuls on the floors of our rooms. On 
the 18th of August 1 was called to visit Judge P. at Aurora, 
on the east side of the Cayuga, whose house, I believe, was 
the first one that had been built on the Military Tract : one 
apartment contained the corpse of his wife, who had expired 
a few hours before my arrival, with every symptom attend- 
ant on malignant or yellow fever ; in another apartment the 
judge and two children lay with very threatening symptoms. 
While attending here on the night of the 22d, I heard the 
pleasant sound of thunder, and soon after the more delight- 
ful noise of the rain pattering on the roof, with which our 
cars had not been regaled for the last two months. A change 
of at least twenty degrees of temperature followed, together 
with a copious fall of water. The patients labouring under 
fever seemed to be immediately benefited, and the new 
cases decreased. But dysentery soon made its appearance 
in the most appalling and fatal form — occasioned, without 
doubt, by this sudden change of temperature, causing a 
checked perspiration in persons fully prepared. On my re- 
turn I found that three persons had died of dysentery on the 
preceding day in the village of Geneva, and was informed 
that several others lay at the point of death. * * * In the 
summer of 1796 I settled in Utica. In the autumn of that 
year dysentery was very prevalent, and, as I was informed, 
proved fatal in many instances on the north side of the river 
Mohawk. In the extent of four miles along a road at that 
time thinly inhabited, I was told that twenty-four deaths had 
taken place from dysentery. Although I had lived several 
years in Glasgow, accounted the second city in point of pop- 
ulation in the British dominions, yet neither there nor while 
attending the Edinburgh hospitals, where three or four hun- 
dred persons are annually admitted, had I, in public or pri- 
vate practice, an opportunity of seeing a single case of dys- 
entery, nor was I more fortunate as to this during a resi- 
dence of five or six years on the Hudson river, previous to 
my removal into the western part of the State of New-York." 



MEDICAL TOPOGRAPHY, ETC. 98 

M Genesee is an Indian term signifying pleasant valley, 
given to the country near the river of the same name : 
its bounds are not very clearly defined, being sometimes ex- 
tended to all that part of the State of New-York lying west 
of Utica, but more generally restricted to that portion west 
of a meridian passing through the northwest corner of 
Seneca Lake. The country lying west of Utica is, in its 
general character and most prominent features, so much 
identified as to admit of being taken under one review, and 
therefore the whole will be considered under the following 
brief notice," says Dr. Ludlow, in his essay on the diseases 
of the Genesee country. 

"The settlement of this section of the State of New- 
York," he continues, "began in 1791, and was principally 
completed in 1804 [but the settlement of Rochester was not 
commenced till 1812]. For the few first years, the settlers 
were scattered over such an extent of country, that an at- 
tempt to characterize the prevalent diseases would be fruit- 
less. I have therefore commenced at a period when they 
had developed themselves sufficiently to attract the notice of 
the medical practitioner. The summer of 1801 was warm, 
with frequent showers ; the days were excessively hot, but 
the nights very chilly. In September and October there 
was less rain ; the days were mild and pleasant, but the 
nights continued cool. The diseases of the spring and sum- 
mer months were principally intermittent fevers, which pre- 
vailed throughout the country ; they were of the tertian type, 
and frequently complicated with visceral obstructions, and 
attended with violent inflammatory action : none were ex- 
empt from them except those who had undergone many pre- 
vious attacks, without having taken any measures to inter- 
rupt their course. A strong prejudice existing against all 
remedies which check the paroxysms : the consequence of 
this was, that the disease laid the foundation of many in- 
curable chronic affections. 

" Peruvian bark was then rarely used ; though, when 
properly employed, generally successful. It was given 
without any previous depletion, even in cases where visceral 
obstruction existed; it is, therefore, not extraordinary that 
doubts of its efficacy should have arisen. 

" In September and October, remittents of a mild form ap- 
peared, which continued through November, growing more 
severe as the season advanced. For the first two or three 



94 SKETCHES OP ROCHESTER, ETC. 

paroxysms, it was difficult to distinguish intermittents from 
remittents : the patient was attacked with languor, pain in 
the head and back, and alternate fits of heat and cold. These 
symptoms lasted four or five days, about which time a remis- 
sion commonly took place, often without the aid of medicine. 
Intermittents and remittents often occurred in the same fam- 
ily, and required similar treatment ; an obstinate case of the 
former being more dreaded than a mild case of the latter. 
Venesection, an emetic, and cathartic, followed by a few 
doses of bark, usually subdued the disease by the fifth or 
ninth day. Occasionally, though rarely, it was more violent, 
the patient being attacked with a severe cold fit, violent pain 
in the head and back, delirium, full hard pulse, increased 
heat, and difficult breathing. These cases, however, were 
seldom fatal, when depletion, according to the exigencies of 
the case, was premised. When left to nature, the symptoms 
became typhoid, and a recovery of the patient uncertain. 
There were also a few cases of dysentery, but not of a ma- 
lignant character. The smallpox occasionally appeared, 
but was seldom fatal. The vaccine virus had been intro- 
duced, but was considered more dangerous than the former. 
All fevers, except fever and ague, were called by the people 
Lake or Genesee fevers. After November, the country was 
remarkably healthy, and continued so during the winter. 

'* During the summer and fall of 1802, the diseases were 
similar to those of the preceding year : the winter was mild 
and healthy. 

" 1803. As the country became more settled, new dis- 
eases appeared, and the preceding ones did not retain their 
former characteristics. Intermittents, from being simple, 
became complicated with other diseases, so as to render it 
difficult to determine their nosological character. 

" In each succeeding year, it became apparent that inter- 
mittents were declining, and continued fevers becoming 
more prevalent. Diarrhoea was the prevailing disease of 
the spring. During the summer, there were many cases of 
dysentery; the symptoms were, however, mild, and none 
terminated fatally. In autumn, remittents and continued 
fevers were general, but yielded readily to the usual rem- 
edies. 

" 1804. The summer of this year was but moderately 
warm ; the winter was intensely cold for an unusual length 
of time. A greater quantity of snow fell, and laid longer 



MEDICAL TOPOGRAPHY, ETC. 95 

than had ever been known. Fevers, during the summer of 
this year, were less frequent than the last. The new settle- 
ments, where intermittents and remittents had prevailed the 
preceding season, were remarkably healthy. In the old 
settlements, during the fall, there were many cases of re- 
mittent. The winter diseases were purely inflammatory, 
which is generally the case in this country. Cynanche ton- 
sillaris, pleuritis, and enteritis, were prevalent, making the 
season more than usually unhealthy. 

" 1805. From the equable temperature of the last year, 
it was expected that the present warm season would be less 
sickly than those which succeeded open winters, but it was 
otherwise. The spring commenced with fevers of an in- 
flammatory nature, which continued until cold weather. 
The intermittents were complicated with enlargements of 
the liver and spleen ; in most instances, these were sequelae 
of the fever; but in others, these organs were primarily 
affected. 

"About this time mercury came into fashion; and in all 
forms of fever, whether intermittent, remittent, or typhus, 
without reference to the diathesis, the patients were indis- 
criminately salivated. In those cases where the liver was 
diseased, it proved serviceable ; but to its abuse numbers 
were sacrificed. 

H 1806. There was much rain and warm weather during 
this summer. The diseases resembled those of the last 
year, except at Palmyra, where a fever of a typhoid charac- 
ter prevailed. It commenced in December ; the symptoms 
were, great prostration at the commencement of the disease, 
succeeded by coma, subsultus tendinum, and hiccough. 
Dissolution generally took place in three or four days, unless 
the system was supported by powerful tonics. It proved 
fatal to many. Whoopingcough was also epidemic through- 
out the country. 

" 1807. The spring was ushered in by wet weather, 
which continued during the summer with alternations of 
great heat. The fevers of this year, during the summer 
months, were purely inflammatory. In September and Oc- 
tober, typhoid symptoms supervened early in the disease. 
The character of the fever varied, however, with its local- 
ities. Near streams, and where the current had been ob- 
structed by dams, its symptoms were strongly marked on the 
attack ; whereas in high grounds, its approach was insidi- 



96 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

ous, the patient feeling but slightly indisposed for some days 
previously ; after this the disease suddenly developed itself. 
These cases were more unmanageable lhan when the attack 
was sudden. In July and August a severe ophthalmia pre- 
vailed. In September influenza was epidemic throughout 
the country : few escaped an attack, as neither previous nor 
existing diseases were preventives. It was attended with 
acute pain in the head and eyes, and sometimes terminated 
in abscesses in the frontal sinuses. It proved fatal to many 
elderly people, and soon terminated the sufferings of those 
who were in the advanced stage of phthisis pulmonalis, of 
which it became the exciting cause where a predisposition 
existed. It also frequently terminated in typhus. The 
treatment generally pursued was depletion, antimonials, and 
mucilaginous drinks. Measles, whoopingcough, and chick- 
enpox were prevalent during the winter. 

" 1808. This season much resembled the last. Fevers 
of a continued type prevailed during the summer, but gen- 
erally terminated favourably. In the month of January a 
typhoid fever appeared, which continued till May. It was 
confined to particular sections of the country, and as fre- 
quently originated in situations proverbially healthy as in 
those of a different character. In many instances it ter- 
minated fatally. Different plans of treatment were pursued, 
of which none proved uniformly successful. Those who 
hitherto considered mercury as infallible in all fevers were 
now compelled to acknowledge their error. Some adminis- 
tered bark early in the disease ; others wine, brandy, and 
opium. The most successful treatment was early, though 
careful depletion, followed by stimuli, judiciously adminis- 
tered. The sudden prostration of strength, the small fre- 
quent pulse, brown tongue, and cold extremities, all indicated 
a disease of a different character from the inflammatory 
fevers which formerly prevailed. 

" 1809. The summer was unusually cool, and the fevers 
of this season were of a less inflammatory character than 
common, readily assuming the form of a mild typhus. In- 
termittents seldom appeared. 

" 1810. The spring commenced early, and the weather 
was less variable than the last season. The summer was 
hot and dry, and during the winter there was much snow 
and cold weather. The diseases of this year were similar 
to those of the last, though less numerous. 



MEDICAL TOPOGRAPHY, ETC. 97 

" 1811. Bilious fevers, with visceral obstructions, pre- 
vailed during this summer, which was extremely warm and 
dry. There were also many cases of diarrhcea. The winter 
months were excessively cold, with alternations of pleasant 
days. Pneumonia, measles, and rheumatism were the pre- 
vailing affections. 

"1812. In March of this year there were frequent cases 
of pleuritis, with great diversity of symptoms. In some 
cases, copious bleeding was required, with a strict antiphlo- 
gistic regimen, while in others an opposite course of treat- 
ment was indicated. The weather had been variable, with 
southerly winds. In April and May were noticed for the 
first time a few sporadic cases of pneumonia typhoides, a 
disease until then unknown, and which, during the ensuing 
winter, became the most formidable epidemic which had 
ever appeared in this country. In the first cases, the local 
affection was principally confined to the throat, and these 
were more fatal than those which succeeded them, in which 
the lungs and brain were principally affected. The summer 
months were extremely warm and dry. Diarrhcea, dysen- 
tery, and the usual fevers were prevalent, without anything 
remarkable in their symptoms. During the autumn, pneu- 
monia typhoides again prevailed in different parts of the 
country, particularly among the soldiers at Lewiston, on 
the Niagara frontier. 

"1813. In January and February the weather was very 
variable, being alternately cold and humid ; the epidemic 
pneumonia typhoides now became general, and caused great 
mortality. There were two forms of the disease : sthenic 
and asthenic ; the greater portion, however, were of the lat- 
ter kind. It differed from preceding epidemics by its local 
determination to different parts of the system, particularly 
the brain and lungs. Its varied symptoms in different sub- 
jects gave it a plurality of names, and occasioned a diver- 
sity of treatment. Some were attacked with violence, and 
died in a few hours, while others were but slightly indis- 
posed. The disease was ushered in with severe cold chills, 
continuing several hours ; pain in the head, back, loins, and 
side ; cough, with expectoration of a frothy mucus, tinged 
with blood. The respiration was difficult, the extremities 
cold, and the pulse exhibited every variety ; sometimes 
natural, again very slow or quick ; but, in most instances, 
the artery was weak and easily compressible. The morbid 

9 



98 SKETCHES OP ROCHESTER, ETC. 

action was frequently translated from one part of the system 
to the other ; thus, in one case, the patient was seized with 
a violent pain in the head, which continued several hours ; 
on the subsidence of this, his legs became painful, and ex- 
tensive inflammation and suppuration supervened. In other 
instances, the diseased action suddenly left the lungs, and 
inflammation and suppuration of the upper extremities fol- 
lowed. Such a multiplicity of symptoms occasioned a 
great contrariety of treatment : some depleted, others stim- 
ulated. On its first appearance, large bleedings were em- 
ployed, but with temporary relief; in most cases the patient 
sinking on the third or fourth day. In other sections of 
the country, this mode of treatment was more successful. 
Those who were opposed to the lancet trusted exclusively 
to opium, a practice equally fatal. The most successful 
treatment was restoring warmth during the cold stage by 
different stimuli, followed by moderate bleeding and evacu- 
ants ; the skin being kept free, and blisters and tonics early 
employed. The epidemic ceased on the return of warm 
weather. In the spring there were a few cases of pleurisy. 
The summer was unusually healthy. 

M In the winter of 1814, the destructive disease of the pre- 
ceding year returned, though it was not so malignant as it 
had proved during the last season. Depleting remedies 
generally produced a favourable termination. In the spring 
it wholly disappeared. There were fewer fevers this sum- 
mer than usual. In the autumn, catarrhal complaints were 
very prevalent. 

" 1815. The fevers of this year were generally inflam- 
matory, and easily subdued. In July, dysentery prevailed 
as an epidemic, but admitted of free depletion. In some 
cases it was accompanied by external inflammation and 
tumefaction of the face, neck, and joints ; in others the throat 
and fauces were affected ; in some few instances the inflam- 
mation of the face terminated in gangrene. The fatality was 
greatest among children. 

" 1816. Every part of the country was this year unusu- 
ally free from fevers. Intermittents rarely occurred, except 
in new settlements, and continued fevers were very mild. 

" 1817. There was nothing remarkable in the diseases 
of this year, except in September and October, when a fever 
with typhoid symptoms prevailed to a limited extent. 

"1818. In December, a fever similar to the last ap- 



MEDICAL TOPOGRAPHY, ETC. 99 

peared. In most cases typhoid symptoms supervened early 
in the disease, requiring the free use of tonics, which treat- 
ment was generally successful. 

" 1819, 20. Both of these years were generally free 
from fevers ; but rheumatism, pleurisy, measles, whooping- 
cough, and dysentery were constant visiters. 

" 1821. Intermittents and remittents were more frequent 
this year, and were particularly malignant in different parts 
of the country. At Syracuse, a small village near Salina, 
many died suddenly. Whoopingcough, cynanche trachealis, 
cholera infantum, and measles also prevailed. 

" 1822. In the winter and spring of this year, the usual 
inflammatory diseases prevailed. During the summer, dys- 
entery was epidemic, and many deaths occurred. Bowel 
complaints proved fatal to a number of children. Intermit- 
tents were more prevalent in old settlements than they had 
been for ten years previous ; also remittents, with unusual 
determination to the head. In some instances they were 
complicated with dysentery, the patient discharging large 
quantities of blood before death. At Salina and its vicinity, 
there were a few cases of a highly malignant character. 

"Calculous diseases are almost unknown, which is in op- 
position to the prevailing opinion that they are peculiar to 
limestone countries. Goitre, or chronic inflammation of the 
thyroid gland, is a very common appearance — [now, 1837, 
the reverse]. I have hitherto purposely avoided mentioning 
phthisis pulmonalis among the diseases of the country, with 
a view of giving it a particular notice. 

M Since the time of Hippocrates, it has been a received 
opinion that intermittents have great agency in the removal 
of other diseases. Boerhaave, in speaking of them, ob- 
serves, ' that unless they are malignant, they dispose a body 
to longevity, and purge it from inveterate disorders.' By 
the moderns this idea has been carried still further, and con- 
sumptions have been said to be almost unknown in those 
countries where intermittents prevail : the fens of Lincoln- 
shire and the inland parts of Holland have been cited as 
examples. To a certain extent, this is the case in the Gen- 
esee country — pulmonary affections, as idiopathic diseases, 
being rarely met with [even as recently as 1823,] although 
they are frequently the sequela; of protracted intermittents. 
This has been accounted for on the supposition that the im- 



100 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

pure air of marshes is particularly favourable to the lungs of 
those who are predisposed to these complaints. 

" In the management of consumption, the main object is 
to translate the disease from the lungs, and to sustain it per- 
manently in some other part without injury to the constitu- 
tion, until the primary affection is removed. We see this 
effected in various ways. The action of mercury, by pro- 
ducing salivation, frequently arrests the disease in its earliest 
stages ; the same effect is produced by the irritation of preg- 
nancy ; and, as soon as the woman ceases to bear children, it 
invariably returns. In what way are these changes effected 
in marshy countries ? Probably by the increased action of 
the liver, and particularly of the stomach and intestines. In 
this country, and I believe it to be the case in all marshy 
countries, there is a general bilious diathesis, and a continual 
current to the bowels. Intestinal diseases prevail more or 
less throughout the whole year, accompanied frequently with 
hemorrhagic discharges." Thus far, Dr. Ludlow in 1823. 

The contrast between the past and the present may be 
shown most forcibly by quoting the language of President 
Dwight (respecting the condition of the country about thirty 
years ago) in juxtaposition with some facts concerning the 
present diseases and mortality of the country. 

In the seventh letter detailing his observations on a jour- 
ney to Niagara in 1804, President Dwight says, with refer- 
ence to the Genesee country — 

" The diseases which principally prevail here are the 
fever and ague, intermittents without ague, and bilious re- 
mittents. Fever and ague may be considered as nearly uni- 
versal, almost all the inhabitants being sooner or later 
seized by it within a few years after their emigration. This 
disease, from the violence of its affections, its long contin- 
uance, its return at the same season for several years, and 
the lasting impression which it often leaves on the constitu- 
tion, is regarded by the people of New-England with a kind 
of horror. The other two diseases, though common to most 
parts of the country, are yet much more predominant in par- 
ticular places. Along the Genesee they all abound. They 
are also frequent, as I was informed, on the southern shores 
of Lake Ontario, and in spots around the outlets of most of 
the smaller lakes, and in various others. A tract around the 
Onondaga salt-springs is still more sickly and fatal. 

" The tract of country which I am now considering has 



MEDICAL TOPOGRAPHY, ETC. 101 

thus far been unhealthy. How far this fact is owing to the 
present stage in the progress of its settlement, it is [now in 
1804] impossible to determine. Most regions on this side 
of the Atlantic have been subjected to some peculiarities of 
disease during the progress of population, of which many 
have vanished when they had reached the state of complete 
settlement. While the country is entirely forested, it is 
ordinarily healthy. While it is passing from this state into 
that of general cultivation, it is usually less healthy. This 
arises partly from the hardships suffered by the planters, 
and partly from the situation of the lands. * * * 

" From the pulmonary consumption, so frequent else- 
where, they are in a great measure exempted. Dr. W., of 
Canandaigua, a physician in extensive practice, informed me 
that, during the ten years of his residence there, only three 
persons within his knowledge had died of the consumption 
in that township and its neighbourhood. He also observed 
that most of the diseases found on the seacoast were un- 
known there, and that he believed the fever and ague to be 
not improbably the cause of this exemption. As I passed 
through Sheffield, in Massachusetts, I was informed, in a 
manner which could not be rationally questioned, that the 
consumption is also very rare in that town. Should there 
be no error in this account, it will deserve inquiry whether 
the infrequency of this disease in the Southern states is not 
owing more to the fever and ague than to the warmth of the 
climate ; or perhaps, in better words, whether the tendencies 
to disease in the human frame do not, in particular tracts, 
flow in this single channel? Should the result of this in- 
quiry be an affirmative answer, Canandaigua may hereafter 
become a more convenient retreat for persons subject to pul- 
monic affections than the Southern states." 

Such were some of the concurring remarks of President 
Dwight and Dr. Ludlow upon the medical topography of 
Western New- York at periods about twenty years apart. 
They were generally applicable even recently ; but now the 
scene is almost wholly changed throughout this region. 
The condition of Rochester — a city distant twenty-eight 
miles from Canandaigua, though not in existence when 
President Dwight travelled through the region — may be 
cited now as furnishing, in the present health of its citizens, 
the strongest contrast to the medical statistics of an earlier 
period in the settlement of the country. 
9* 



102 SKETCHES OF RpCHESTER, ETC. 

In reference to some suggestions which we made con- 
cerning the changed aspect of the diseases of this region, 
Dr. Wm. W. Reid, one of the physicians of Rochester, re- 
marks, in a letter which we take the liberty of publishing — 

" The name of the ' Genesee country' was formerly asso- 
ciated strongly in eastern minds with ideas of sickness and 
death. Notwithstanding the glowing descriptions of the 
beauty and fertility of the land given by the early pioneers 
of Western New- York, those who remained at home in 
New-England could scarcely divest themselves of a feeling 
of gloom in contemplating the danger incident to health and 
life in the early stages of the settlement westward. It 
seemed to most of them that, after all, this western region was 
but a ' valley of bones' — a premature burying-place for those 
loved friends and relatives who were tempted to settle in this 
then newly-opening territory. And truly, like all new, 
level, and rich countries, abounding in vegetation, it was sub- 
ject largely to the diseases of similar districts — the severe 
forms of intermittent and remittent fevers, cholera mor- 
bus, &c. 

" Rochester, situate near the northern extremity of the 
Genesee Valley, within five miles of Lake Ontario, a few 
years ago necessarily partook of the characteristics of the 
country on the score of health . Being then but a small village 
— its streets ungraded and undrained — the forest encroach- 
ing upon its suburbs — the stumps of recently-felled trees 
mingling with the buildings — the soil a deep vegetable mould 
that had been accumulating for ages, and covered with de- 
caying matter — what wonder that malaria and malaric dis- 
eases should prevail? that ague, in its worst and most diver- 
sified forms, should abound ? 

" But time has removed the decomposing vegetable mat- 
ter, and man has graded, drained, paved, and macadamized 
the streets ; and Rochester, grown into a city, is now less 
subject to intermittent and remittent fevers than the sur- 
rounding country, although the latter has also become re- 
markably healthy. Since 1828, fevers have so declined 
and become so infrequent and mild, that death from that 
cause has been comparatively a rare occurrence during the 
last seven years. 

" Nor have the former and earlier diseases of this place 
been supplanted by others of greater or equal malignity. 
But, as the face of the country has changed, the population 



103 

increased, and the habits of society become more luxuri- 
ous, disease has assumed a greater variety of aspects and 
a more inflammatory type, yet milder and more controlla- 
ble by medicine. And as we approximate the condition of 
other cities — as improvements, wealth, refinement, luxury, 
and ease are increased, diseases change remarkably ; and 
now that ' opprobrium medicorum,' that choice agent of the 
King of Terrors, Consumption, is gaining the ascendency. 
Twelve years ago, and death by consumption was as rare 
an event in Rochester as death by fever is now. But du- 
ring the last eight years, especially the last four or five, 
consumption and its kindred affections of the lungs have in- 
creased considerably. Yet a comparison of the bills of 
mortality in this and any eastern city of equal population 
will show a balance in our favour with reference even to 
this disease. 

" Whether the prevailing temperature and winds of this 
locality have contributed most to the increase of inflamma- 
tory affections of the lungs, or whether it must be ascribed 
equally to a variety of causes, is difficult to determine. 
Previous to 1831 we had no regular and accurate registry 
of the thermometrical and barometrical variations ; but from 
that period to the present time (1838), we have a set of ob- 
servations carefully made by Dr. E. S. Marsh. An ab- 
stract from his tables is elsewhere given in this work. 
(See the account of the Climate, Soil and Productions of the 
Genesee Valley.) The mean temperature for the year 
1837 was lower by about one degree on every day than 
was the case during either of the five preceding years, and 
by nearly three degrees lower than the mean of those five 
years. The range of the mercury in the barometer in this 
place is less than two inches. On the 19th of March, 
1831, the mercury stood at 28.40 — on the 14th of February, 
1831, at 30.20— and on Jan. 15, 1834, at 30.20. These 
are the greatest extremes that have been noted." 

The following statements of the mortality in the City of 
Rochester, and comparisons between this place and other 
towns with reference to the subject, are furnished by Mr. 
William Myers, the Sexton of the City Cemeteries. 



104 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

Report of Deaths in Rochester in 1837. 

Consumption, 46 ; dropsy, 8 ; dropsy in the head, 10 ; 
drowned, 18 ; dysentery, 12 ; fits, 16 ; accidental and sud- 
den, 8 ; aneurism, 1 ; unknown, 10 ; canker, 4 ; bowel 
complaint, 82 ; inflammation of the lungs, 16; of the brain, 
2 ; of the bowels, 44 ; of the head, 26 ; fever, scarlet, 9 ; 
typhus, &c, 10; piles, 2; palsy, 2; catarrh, 2; cholera 
infantum, 2 ; croup, 2 ; childbed, 4 ; worms, 4 ; quinsy, 2 ; 
pleurisy, 2. 

Whole number of deaths in the City of Rochester for the 
year 1837, 358 — of which 166 were under 1 year old ; 58 
between 1 and 5 years ; 12 between 5 and 10 ; 24 between 
10 and 20 ; 42 between 20 and 30 ; 16 between 30 and 40 ; 
28 between 40 and 50 ; 10 between 50 and 60 ; 2 between 
70 and 80 — showing a proportion of one death out of every 
fifty-three persons, the population of Rochester being cal- 
culated at 19,000. 

The deaths reported in the city of New- York for 1837 
amounted to 8009 — or about one death for every 34 persons. 

In Boston, the mortality during the year amounted to 
1843, or one death in every 43 persons. 

In Philadelphia, the deaths amounted to 5666 — making 
about one death in every 35 persons. 

By these statements it will be seen that the mortality in 
Rochester is considerably smaller in proportion to the num- 
bers of the population than in New- York, Boston, or Phila- 
delphia. 



THE LANDS OF THE SIX NATIONS. 



NOTICES OF THE TREATIES AND LAWS CONCERNING THE 
EXTINCTION OF THE INDIAN TITLE. 

The arrangements by which the Six Nations were grad- 
ually induced to relinquish their territory may be considered 
now, preliminary to some observations on the subsequent 
subdivisions and settlement of this valuable region. 

A treaty made since the commencement of the current 
year (1838) provides for the removal westward of the "last 
lingering relics" of that renowned Confederacy — a people, 
rude though they were, whose career was marked with traits 
of wisdom, eloquence, and valour, which produced compar- 
isons in some respects between them and the Greeks,* and 
won for them the title of the Romans of America. t 

The progressive means by which this great change has 
been effected are briefly traced in the following analysis of 
official documents, which we were induced to prepare for 
the information of those who cannot conveniently investigate 
the voluminous records of events which form such interest- 
ing features in the annals of our country. 

Notwithstanding the atrocities perpetrated by the Indians 
(to which they were stimulated by the royalists),| the spirit 
manifested towards them by our government after the revo- 
lution was nowise vindictive, as will be seen by the context. 

The following notices, in connexion with matters included 
in the Appendix, will probably enable the reader to form a 
tolerably correct idea of the extraordinary Confederacy whose 
former hunting-grounds have suddenly experienced the trans- 
forming influence of civilization, as signally exemplified in 
the rise of Rochester. 



* Vide President Dwight's Travels. 

t Vide Discourse of De Witt Clinton, in Appendix. 

% See Appendix. 



106 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 



FIRST TREATY BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND THE 
SIX NATIONS, AFTER THE REVOLUTION. 

1784. The conditions of peace between the United States 
and the Six Nations were concluded at Fort Stanwix on the 
22d of October, 1784. Oliver Wolcott, Richard Butler, and 
Arthur Lee acted as commissioners for the United States. 

Peace was granted to the Six Nations on condition that 
captives, white and black, should be restored to their homes, 
and that the Indian Confederacy should agree to certain 
western boundaries. The western frontier thus established 
was described as beginning at the mouth of a creek four 
miles east of Niagara, then known as Johnson's Landing- 
place, " on the lake named by the Indians Oswego, and by 
us Ontario" — thence running southerly in a direction always 
four miles east of the portage or carrying-path between 
Lakes Erie and Ontario, to the mouth of Buffalo Creek on 
Lake Erie — thence due south to the north boundary of the 
state of Pennsylvania — thence west to the end of the said 
north boundary — thence south along the west boundary of 
the said state to the River Ohio. The Six Nations, on con- 
curring in this limitation, were guarantied the peaceable pos- 
session of their territories eastward of the line, excepting a 
reservation of six miles square around Fort Oswego for the 
convenience of the United States. " In consideration of the 
present circumstances of the Six Nations, and in execution 
of the humane and liberal views of the United States," the 
commissioners distributed among the Indians a considerable 
quantity of goods at the conclusion of this important treaty. 

The cession of their hunting-grounds northwest of the 
Ohio was vigorously though unavailingly opposed by several 
of the red men. Saguaha, or Red Jacket, then young and 
nameless among the head men, rose rapidly in favour with 
the Senecas for his hostility to the measure — while the pop- 
ularity of their great chief, Cornplanter, suffered severely 
among his race for his partiality to the whites in the arrange- 
ment. The reservation on the Allegany river, whereon his 
descendants still abide, formed part of the gratuity bestowed 
on the half-breed chief (for Cornplanter was the son of John 
Abeel or O'Bail) whose exertions contributed so largely to 
the furtherance of the views of the American government. 
The patriotism of Red Jacket was then thoroughly aroused, 
and his wisdom and eloquence were generally zealously 
employed to vindicate the rights of the red man against the 



THE LANDS OF THE SIX NATIONS. 107 

encroaching influence of the " pale faces." He was elected 
a chief among the Senecas soon after this treaty, and his in- 
fluence was great among the Indian Confederacy for upward 
of forty years, till death prevented him from witnessing the 
complete success of the policy (which he had resolutely op- 
posed) for the total expatriation of his race by the removal 
westward of the fragments of the Six Nations yet lingering 
in Western New-York. 

The hostility of Red Jacket to the treaty of Fort Stanwix 
was so ingenious and enthusiastic, that it was vividly remem- 
bered by Lafayette (though the name of the orator was for- 
gotten) on his last visit to the United States. It is not sur- 
prising that the name should have been forgotten, as, at the 
time of the treaty, Red Jacket was young and nameless 
among his tribe ; his character having then only begun to 
develop itself, though he had not been backward among the 
warriors whose hostilities in the revolutionary war provoked 
the summary vengeance inflicted on their Confederacy by the 
expedition of General Sullivan. When at Buffalo on his 
tour through the Union, Lafayette was reminded by Red 
Jacket of the treaty of Fort Stanwix. H The occurrences 
are fresh in my memory," said the veteran general ; " and 
what became of the young warrior who then so eloquently 
opposed the burying of the tomahawk, and who so zealously 
resisted the cession of lands to the whites ?" " He is now 
before you !" said Red Jacket. 

First Lands acquired from the Indians by the State of New- 
York. 

1785. In 1785, on the 28th of June, at a treaty at Fort 
Herkimer, with George Clinton and other commissioners 
for the State of New- York, the Oneida and Tuscarora 
tribes sold a portion of their territory for $11,500. The 
tract thus sold included the land lying between the Unadilla 
and Chenango Rivers, south of a line drawn east and west 
between those streams, and north of the Pennsylvania line, 
&c. On the 22d of September, 1788, the Oneidas, by 
treaty at Fort Stanwix, ceded all their lands, excepting 
certain reservations, as will be seen in the sequel. 

Particular solicitude was manifested by the state govern- 
ment to purchase lands from the Indians for the purpose of 
discharging obligations to revolutionary soldiers. See no- 
tice of the Military Tract. 



108 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

New-York and Massachusetts. 

1786. On the 16th of December, 1786, the controversy 
between New-York and Massachusetts respecting the rights 
of jurisdiction and property over a large portion of territory 
within the now acknowledged limits of New-York (the dis- 
puted territory being claimed by each state in virtue of an- 
cient grants and charters under the British Crown), was 
amicably arranged between the commissioners from the re- 
spective states by an agreement made at Hartford in Connec- 
ticut. (Both states had previously concurred in ceding to 
Congress all claim to lands lying westward of the present 
boundary of New- York.*) The difficulty was compromised 
by a concession to Massachusetts of the right of pre-emption 

* The Pennsylvania Triangle. — Now that the rivalry for the 
Western trade has excited so much attention to the enterprise mani- 
fested by several states in connecting seaboard and lakeboard by canals 
and railroads, it may not be deemed irrelevant, after referring to the 
settlement of the conflicting claims of Massachusetts and New- York, 
to mention the fate of the triangular tract [north of the ancient limits 
of Pennsylvania, and west of the present western boundary of the State 
of New-York], by which the boundaries of Pennsylvania were enlarged 
so as to secure a small frontier on Lake Erie. 

This triangular tract is situated in Erie County, Pennsylvania — em- 
braces the town and harbour of Erie, formerly Presque Isle. It is 
bounded by a base line on Lake Erie of 38 miles ; eastward by the 
west line of New- York 18 miles ; south by lat. 42°, the line about 33 
miles long — containing 202,187 acres. The circumstances attending 
its annexation to Pennsylvania were these, as will be seen by reference 
to the proceedings in Congress on the 4th September, 1788 : — 

New- York and Massachusetts having ceded to Congress all preten- 
sions growing out of their charters to territory west of a line drawn 
southerly from the western extremity of Lake Ontario, there was a 
small remainder of land between the north part of Pennsylvania and 
the south shore of Lake Erie, and between the New- York line east 
and the Ohio line (or rather the line of the Connecticut Reserve) west, 
which prevented Pennsylvania from having direct intercourse with the 
lakes. 

It was ordered in Congress, on report of a committee consisting of 
Mr. Dane, Mr. Sedgwick, and Mr. Madison (to whom had been refer- 
red a motion of the Pennsylvania delegation), that, as the said tract is 
entirely separate (by the intervention of the Connecticut Reserve) from 
the other lands of the Western Territory, over which the jurisdiction 
of the United States extends ; and as it would be expedient for Penn- 
sylvania, under these circumstances, to have jurisdiction over the tract 
aforesaid — the United States relinquished all right to said tract on con- 
dition that the sum of $157,640 should be paid for the 202,187 acres 
which the tract contains, and that the inhabitants should be maintained 
in their usual rights. 



THE LANDS OP THE SIX NATIONS. 109 

of the soil from the native Indians (while New- York was 
confirmed in the sovereignty and jurisdiction) of the tract 
west of a meridian line from Lake Ontario, passing through 
Seneca Lake to a point on the Pennsylvania line eighty-two 
miles west of the northeastern boundary of that state — re- 
serving only to New- York a tract one mile wide along the 
Niagara River. Particulars of this controversy are given 
hereafter. It was also agreed that Massachusetts should 
have the pre-emptive right to a tract of 230,400 acres, equal 
to ten townships of six miles square, between the Owego 
and Chenango Rivers, sometimes called the u Massachusetts 
Ten Townships." Soon after these arrangements Massa- 
chusetts sold its right to the "Ten Townships" to Samuel 
Brown and 59 associates, for $3333 33 — and sold to 
Phelps and Gorham all the tract west of the line running 
through Seneca Lake, for $1,000,000. Particulars of the 
subsequent history of the western tract may be found under 
the heads of the " Holland Purchase" and the " Pulteney 
Estate." See also the statements in the sequel concerning 
the schemes of " the Lessees," and their operations with 
Phelps and Gorham and with the State Government, under 
the article headed " A New State Projected." 

Lands of the Onondagas. 

1788. On the 12th of September, 1788, the Onondagas, 
by treaty at Fort Schuyler (or Stanwix), sold all their ter- 
ritory to the State of New- York — saving a reservation 
around the chief village of the tribe, which reservation was 
guarantied to them for ever ; but they were precluded from 
selling it otherwise than to the state in case they should 
wish to dispose of it. It was stipulated that the Onon- 
dagas and their posterity should enjoy for ever the free 
right of hunting and fishing in the territory thus relin- 
quished. The Salt Lake, and the land around the same for 
one mile, was to remain for ever for the common use of the 
people of New- York and the Onondagas, for the purpose of 
making salt, and not to be disposed of for other objects. 
For these concessions the State of New- York paid a thou- 
sand French crowns in money, and two hundred pounds in 
clothing ; and contracted to pay to the Onondagas and their 
posterity for ever the sum of $500 annually. This trealy 
was confirmed on the 16th of June, 1790, at Fort Schuyler, 

10 



110 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

when and where the tribe attended to receive the stipulated 
annuity ; and on which occasion the state also bestowed 
a gratuity of $500. 

Lands of the Oneidas. 

1788. On the 22d of September, 1788, the Oneidas, who 
had in 1785 ceded part of their lands, now relinquished to 
the State of New- York all their territory, with the exception 
of a small reservation and the right of hunting and fishing 
for ever in all the lands thus relinquished. Small tracts 
around Oneida Lake, Fish Creek, and Onondaga [now Os- 
wego] River, were reserved for ever for the common use 
of the whites and Oneidas, in fishing, trading, &c. It was 
stipulated also, that, notwithstanding any reservation to the 
Oneidas for their own use, the New-England Indians settled 
at Brothertovvn under the charge of the Rev. Samson Oc- 
cum, and their posterity for ever, and the Stockbridge In- 
dians with their posterity for ever, should enjoy the lands 
previously ceded to them by the Oneidas for that purpose. 
The tract thus assigned to the New-England Indians was 
three miles long and two miles broad ; and that set apart 
for the Stockbridge tribe was six miles square. For the 
lands acquired by this treaty the State of New- York paid 
$2000 in cash, $2000 in clothing, and $1000 in provis- 
ions, with $500 for building a gristmill on the Oneida Re- 
serve ; and agreed to pay to the Oneidas for ever an an- 
nuity of $600. The Oneidas agreed to aid the state in ex- 
cluding all intruders from their reservation, in apprehending 
felons, &c. 

Lands of the Cayugas. 

1789. The treaty made at Albany with the Cayugas, on the 
25th of February, 1789, provided for a cession to the State 
of New-York of all the territory of their tribe, saving a reser- 
vation of one hundred square miles, exclusive of the waters 
of Cayuga Lake, about which this reserve was located. 
The Cayugas were secured in the privilege of the eel-fishery 
on Seneca River, with a competent space on the south side 
of the river for curing their fish, &c. The right of hunting 
and fishing in every part of the ceded territory was also 
guarantied to the Cayugas and their posterity forever. In 
consideration of the lands thus acquired by this treaty, the 



THE LANDS OP THE SIX NATIONS. Ill 

State of New- York then paid $500 — agreed to pay on the 
1st of June following the sum of $1625 — besides an annuity 
for ever of $500 to the Cayugas and their posterity. The 
conditions of this treaty were confirmed at Fort Schuyler on 
the 22d June, 1790, when the Cayugas attended for the re- 
ception of their annuity, $500 — on which occasion the state 
bestowed on the tribe a gratuity of $1000. The state re- 
quired the Cayugas to prevent intruders from settling on 
their lands, and demanded the expulsion therefrom of all 
others than the Cayugas and their adopted brothers, the 
Paanese. 

The provisions for the expulsion of intruders, contained in 
this treaty and in others made about the same time, were 
doubtless particularly levelled at " the Lessees" and those 
who claimed lands under " Connecticut grants" — concerning 
which some statements may be found hereafter. 

The United States and the Six Nations. 

1789. On the 8th of January, 1789, a treaty was formed 
at Fort Harmar, between Arthur St. Clair, governor of the 
territory northwest of the Ohio, and the sachems and war- 
riors of the Six Nations ; which treaty was merely confirm- 
atory of the provisions made between the United States 
and the Indian Confederacy at Fort Schuyler in 1784. 
None of the Mohawks were prespnt. hm «iv monthc were 
allowed for the assent of that tribe. In addition to presents 
formerly made, goods to the value of $3000 were now be- 
stowed on the Six Nations by the general government. 

The Indian names attached to this treaty are more amu- 
sing from their oddity than any equal number attached to any 
similar paper that we have ever seen. The English syno- 
nymes which accompany their X marks are — Dogs-round- 
the-fire, 1'he Blast, Swimming-fish, Dancing Feather, Fall- 
ing Mountain, Broken Tomahawk, Long-tree, Loaded Man, 
Snake, Bandy-legs, Big-tree, Thrown-in-the-water, Corn- 
planter, Big Cross, New Arrow, Half-town, The Wasp, 
Wood-bug, Big-bale-of-a-kettle, Council -keeper, Broken 
Twig, Full Moon, Twenty Canoes, Tearing Asunder ! In 
addition to which, there may be added, from the signatures 
of the treaty made by Timothy Pickering with the Six Na- 
tions at Canandaigua in 1795, the names of Handsome Lake, 
Jake Stroud, Captain Prantup, Big Sky, Fish-carrier, Little- 



112 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

beard, Half-town, Stinking-fish, Green-grasshopper, or Little 
Billy, Woods-on-fire, Two-skies-of-a-length, Heap-of-dogs ! 
Among such uncouth names may be found, attached to the 
Canandaigua treaty, the names of Honayawus, or Farmer's 
Brother, and Sagooyoowhaha, or Red Jacket — men whose 
majesty of mind shone with a lustre which no " belittling 
appellatives" could bedim. 

New-York and the Oneidas, Onondagas, and Cayugas. 

1793. On the 1 1th of March, 1793, agents were appointed 
by the State of New-York to hold a council with the Onei- 
da, Onondaga, and Cayuga Indians, for the purpose of buy- 
ing such lands as they would spare from their reservations 
— an annuity of $5 to be paid by the state for every square 
mile relinquished by the Indians — with a stipulation that the 
state should have the right to make roads through the lands 
reserved by the Indians. 

1793. An agreement at Onondaga, between John Can- 
tine and Simeon Dewitt on the part of the state, and the 
chiefs and warriors of the Onondaga tribe, provided that 
the tribe should release to the state certain portions of the 
Onondaga Reservation. $400 paid to the Indians at the 
treaty, and $400 annually on account of the lands thus 
ceded, for ever. 

1795. As the Oneidas, Onondagas, and Cayugas, some- 
times collcotivoly, eomotimp« singly, leaspd parts of the lands 
appropriated for their use to white persons, and permitted 
others to settle thereon without lease, which occasioned con- 
troversy between the tribes and between them and the set- 
tlers ; and as the tribes requested the Legislature to interfere 
and preserve good order in reference to the subject, com- 
missioners were appointed to arrange the difficulties in such 
way as should preserve among the Indians full confidence in 
the justice of the state — said agents being authorized to 
grant annuities to the Indians for the unproductive lands 
which said tribes might be disposed to relinquish to the 
state, pursuant to the law of 11th March, 1793 (which al- 
lowed annuities of $5 for each square mile which should be 
relinquished by the Indians). 

The United States and the Six Nations. 

1794. A treaty was formed at Konondaigua [Canandai- 
gua] on the 11th November, 1794, between the United 



THE LANDS OF THE SIX NATIONS. 113 

States and the Six Nations — Timothy Pickering acting in 
behalf of the United States. 

* The President of the United States having determined 
to hold a conference with the Six Nations for the purpose 
of removing from their minds all causes of complaint, and 
establishing a firm and permanent friendship with them; and 
Timothy Pickering being appointed sole agent for that pur- 
pose ; the following articles were agreed upon, in order to 
accomplish the good design of the conference — 

After declaring the establishment of peace and friendship 
between the parties, the United States acknowledged " the 
lands reserved to the Oneida, Onondaga, and Cayuga na- 
tions in their respective treaties with the State of New-York ; 
admitted their reservations to be their property ; and agreed 
that they (the United States) will never claim the same, nor 
disturb them, nor either of the Six Nations, nor their Indian 
friends residing thereon and united with them, in the free use 
and enjoyment thereof; but the said reservations shall re- 
main theirs until they choose to sell the same to the people 
of the United States, who have the right to purchase." 

This treaty recognised the following boundaries of the 
Seneca nation : Beginning at Lake Ontario, at the north- 
west corner of the lands they sold to Phelps and Gorham, 
the line runs westerly along the lake to Johnson's Landing- 
place on the creek four miles east of Fort Niagara ; then 
southerly up that creek to its main fork ; then straight to 
the main fork of Stedman's Creek, which empties into Ni- 
agara River above Fort Schlosser ; and then onward from 
that point, continuing the same straight course to that river 
[this line, from the Four-mile Creek to Niagara River, above 
Fort Schlosser, being the eastern boundary of a strip of land 
extending from the same line to Niagara River, which the 
Seneca nation ceded to the King of Great Britain at a treaty 
held about thirty years previous by Sir Win. Johnson] ; then 
the line runs along the River Niagara to Lake Erie ; then 
along Lake Erie to the northeast corner of the triangu- 
lar piece of land which the United States conveyed to the 
State of Pennsylvania in March, 1792 — then due south to 
the north boundary of that state ; then due east to the 
southwest corner of the land sold by the Seneca nation to 
Oliver Phelps ; and then north and northerly along Phelps's 
line to the place of beginning on Lake Ontario. All the ter- 
10* 



114 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

ritory within these limits was acknowledged as the property 
ef the Senecas, and the United States agreed never to dis- 
turb that tribe, nor any of the Six Nations or their Indian 
friends in the occupation thereof. 

The United States having thus acknowledged the reser- 
vations of the Six Nations, the latter agreed never to claim 
any other lands within the United States, nor to molest the 
people thereof, &c. 

The Senecas (the other tribes concurring) ceded to the 
United States the right of making a wagon-road from Schlos- 
ser to Lake Erie at Buffalo Creek, for travelling and trans- 
portation ; and the Six Nations agreed to allow always to 
the United States a free passage through their lands, with 
the free use of the harbours and rivers adjoining and within 
their respective tracts of land, for the passing and securing 
of vessels, with liberty to land cargoes where necessary for 
their safety. 

" In consideration of the peace and friendship hereby estab- 
lished, and of the engagements entered into by the Six Na- 
tions ; and because the United States desire with humanity 
and kindness to contribute to their comfortable support, and 
to render the peace and friendship hereby established strong 
and perpetual," the United States delivered to the Six Na- 
tions ten thousand dollars' worth of goods ; and for the 
same consideration, and with a view to promote the future 
welfare of the Six Nations and of their Indian friends afore- 
said, the United States added $3000 to the $1500 pre- 
viously allowed them by an article dated 23d April, 1792 
(which $1500 was to be expended annually in purchasing 
clothing, domestic animals, and implements of husbandry, 
and for encouraging useful artificers to reside in their vil- 
lages), making in the whole $4500, the whole to be expend- 
ed yearly for ever in purchasing clothing, &c, as just men- 
tioned, under the direction of the superintendent appointed 
by the president. 

"Lest the firm peace and friendship now established should 
be interrupted by the misconduct of individuals, the United 
States and the Six Nations agree that, for injuries done by 
individuals on either side, no private revenge or retaliation 
shall take place ; but, instead thereof, complaint shall be 
made by the party injured to the other, and such prudent 
measures shall then be pursued as shall be necessary to 



THE LANDS OF THE SIX NATIONS. 115 

preserve our peace and friendship unbroken, until the Legis- 
lature (or great Council of the United States) shall make 
other equitable provision for the purpose." 

A note to the treaty says — " It is clearly understood by 
the parties to this treaty, that the annuity stipulated in the 
sixth article is to be applied to the benefit of such of the 
Six Nations, and of their Indian friends united with them 
as aforesaid, as do or shall reside within the boundaries of 
the United Slates ; for the United States do not interfere 
with nations, tribes, or families of Indians elsewhere resi- 
dent." 

An anecdote characteristic of Red Jacket has been men- 
tioned to us by an old settler. At the conference for the 
formation of the treaty, Colonel Pickering commenced ma- 
king memoranda as Red Jacket was speaking. The Indian 
orator, while depicting the wrongs which the red men had 
suffered from the encroachments of the whites, paused sud- 
denly, addressed himself with energetic dignity to Colonel 
Pickering, and exclaimed — " Look up from the table, broth- 
er, and fix your eyes upon my eyes — that you may see that 
what Saguaha says is the truth, and no lie /" 

Notwithstanding the anxiety of the government to propi- 
tiate the favour of the Six Nations by these treaties, many 
of the Senecas were found among the western Indians fight- 
ing against Harmar, St. Clair, and Wayne, and against Har- 
rison at Tippecanoe as late as 1811. See Appendix. 

Seneca Lands — Reservations, fyc. 

1797. By treaty at Big-tree, on the Genesee, in what was 
then Ontario county, near the present village of Geneseo, 
Livingston county (Jeremiah Wadsworth, United States 
Commissioner, and William Shepherd, agent for Massachu- 
setts), Robert Morris bought from the Indians the right of 
soil in the whole country west of Phelps's original purchase, 
excepting the strip at Niagara River, and excepting also the 
several reservations now mentioned, viz. : Two square miles 
at Canawagus, near Avon ; two square miles at Big-tree ; 
two square miles at Little-beard's town ; two square miles 
at Squakie Hill ; the Gardow Reservation, containing four 
miles square, and taking as much land on the west as on 
the east side of the River Genesee, in Castile, Mount Mor- 
ris, &c. ; the Caneadea Reservation, extending eight miles 



116 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

along the river, and two miles broad ; another reservation 
at Cattaraugus Creek and Lake Erie ; another reservation 
south side of Cattaraugus Creek (both of which last traets 
were afterward transferred to the Holland Company, in ex- 
change for other lands). Also, forty-two square miles at and 
near Allegany River, where Corn-planter lived ; and two 
hundred square miles, to be laid off partly at Buffalo and 
Tonawanta Creeks — the privilege of hunting and fishing in 
all the ceded lands being reserved to the Senecas. 

The Mohawks. 

1797. On the 29th of March, 1797, the Mohawks, who 
mostly fled to Canada during the revolution, by their agents, 
Capt. Joseph Brant and Capt. John Deserontyon, agreed 
with the State Commissioners, Abraham Ten Broeck, Eg- 
bert Benson, and Ezra L'Hommedieu, in presence of Isaac 
Smith, United States Commissioner, to relinquish all claim 
to lands in this state for the sum of $1000 — the state to 
pay $600 for expenses of the Mohawk agents in coming and 
going back to Canada, and conveying the money to their 
nation, to be distributed according to their usage. 

The representations in a memorial presented to the Legis- 
lature some time previous are worthy of notice for their 
reference to the former condition of the tribe: In 1786, a 
petition presented to the Legislature by Johannes Crine, a 
Mohawk chief, in behalf of himself and others of the Mohawk 
tribe, represented that the Mohawk Indians, from time imme- 
morial, have lived at Tiondarogue, since called Fort Hunter, 
and occupied a tract of land on both sides of the Schoharie 
Creek, at the junction of said creek with the Mohawk River, 
containing upward of 3000 acres of upland, intervale, and 
lowlands ; that considerable improvements had been made 
by the tribe at the commencement of the revolution — that 
he alone had three good dwellings, two barns, and an or- 
chard, besides cattle — but that, while he was imprisoned in 
Niagara in 1780, Sir John Johnson made a descent in May 
upon Cochnawaga, destroyed his place, and carried off his 
family, with other Mohawks, to Canada. That the reason 
of his imprisonment in Niagara was this : he went with a 
flag of truce from Gen. Schuyler to the officer at that post, 
where he was thrown into confinement along with his com- 
panions, Abraham, a Mohawk chief, and Petrus and Scan- 
ando, two Oneida chiefs, &c. 



THE LANDS OP THE SIX NATIONS. 117 

The Oneidas. 

1798. On the 1st of June, 1798, by a treaty at the Oneida 
village (J. Hopkinson, United States Agent, present), there 
was bought for the uses of New-York a part of the lands 
reserved to the Oneidas by previous contract with the state 
— consideration, $500 in hand, and $700 annually. Rati- 
fied February 21, 1799. 

Brothertown Indians. 

1801. On the 4th of April, 1801, the tract set apart for 
the New-England Indians (viz. the Mohegan, Montock, 
Stonington, and Narraganset Indians, with the Pequots of 
Groton, and Nahantics of Farmington), was confirmed as 
their property, but without the power of alienation — the tract 
to be called Brothertown, and to be deemed part of the town 
of Paris, Oneida county, for all purposes connected with the 
execution of the laws. 

Rights of the Indians, Sfc. 

1801. A law relative to the Indians, passed on the 4th of 
April, 1801, provided fine and imprisonment for any one who 
should attempt to buy or sell in any way any lands belong- 
ing to the Indian tribes, unless authorized in lawful form : 
Also, that no action could be maintained against any Stock- 
bridge, Brothertown, Oneida, Onondaga, or Cayuga In- 
dians ; and that any one suing on such contracts should 
pay treble costs to the party aggrieved : Also, that any one 
who should sell liquors to the Oneida, Stockbridge, or Broth- 
ertown Indians, within the counties of Oneida and Chenan- 
go, should be subject to fine and forfeiture ; that pawns 
taken from Indians within the state for liquor should be re- 
coverable back with costs of suit by the pawner. 

The following annuities were ordered to be paid, in lieu of 
former stipulations, viz. : $4869^ ¥ 8 ¥ for the use of the Onei- 
das ; $2000 for the Onondagas ; $2300 for the Cayugas. 
A portion of these sums to be applied, at the discretion of the 
governor, for the support of schools on the reservations. 

Disposal of State Lands. 

1801. Commissioners of the Land-Office were appointed 
on the 24th March, 1801, and directed to make ready for 



118 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

sale the unappropriated lands in the "Western District," 
excepting the reserves of the Oneida, Onondaga, and Cayuga 
Indians, and the lands purchased from said Indians since 
the 11th of March, 1793, and all lands heretofore reserved 
by law for public uses, or for the use of this state, and all 
lands in the counties of Onondaga and Cayuga. The towns 
surveyed to be as nearly square as practicable, to contain 
64,000 acres each, and the lots to be 160 acres each, num- 
bered regularly. Four lots to be reserved in each town for 
promoting schools and literature. Not more than 64,000 
acres to be sold by auction at any one time, and at not less 
than 75 cents per acre. 

New- Stoc kbridge . 

1801. By a law of April 4, 1801, the six miles square 
confirmed to the Stockbridge Indians by the Oneidas at the 
treaty of Fort Stanwix in 1788, was designated as " New- 
Stockbridge," and was declared to be the property of the 
Stockbridge Indians for ever — but without the power of 
alienation. 

Seneca Lands. 

1802. On the 30th of June, 1802, by a treaty at Buffalo 
Creek, in the then County of Ontario, in presence of John 
Tayler, U. S. Commissioner, Messrs. Oliver Phelps, Isaac 
Bronson, and Horatio Jones bought of the Seneca tribe the 
tract called Little-beard's Reservation, bounded east by 
Genesee River and Little-beard's Creek, on the south and 
west by other Seneca lands, and north by the Big-tree 
Reservation. The tract consisted of two square miles, and 
the sum paid therefor $1200. 

On the same day, the Holland Company, by their agent, 
Joseph Ellicott, agreed as follows with the Seneca tribe : 
That the two reservations near Cattaraugus Creek and Lake 
Erie, designated in the agreement with Robert Morris, in 
1797, should be exchanged with the Indians for another 
tract in the same neighbourhood — the Company reserving 
the right of pre-emption to the exchanged lands. 

The Legislature voted $1500 to enable Oliver Phelps, 
Israel Chapin, and other commissioners to erect a " church 
and schoolhouse" in each of the Seneca and Tuscarora 
Reservations. 



THE LANDS OP THE SIX NATIONS. 119 



The Senecas. 

1802. The law declared it necessary that a treaty be 
held with the Seneca nation of Indians to extinguish their 
claim to lands east of Lake Erie, to enable this state to 
cede their jurisdiction, or sell to the United States a sufficient 
space at the eastern extremity of Lake Erie, at a place 
called Black Rock, as might be sufficient for the establish- 
ment of a military post. The Governor was therefore au- 
thorized to hold a treaty with the Seneca nation of Indians, 
to extinguish their claim to the whole or such part of their 
lands at the east end of Lake Erie, of one mile wide on 
Niagara River, " from Buffalo Creek to Stedman's Farm, 
including Black Rock, with so much land adjoining as 
should be sufficient for establishing a military post, on such 
payments and annuities as he should judge most condu- 
cive to the interest of the state. $5000 appropriated to 
pay expenses of the treaty, and to make the first payment 
on the land sought for. It was allowed by the law that a 
stipulation should be made for securing to Horatio Jones 
and Jasper Parish two square miles of the narrow strip lying 
alongside the Niagara, as aforesaid, in case the Senecas 
should make such provision in favour of those persons. 
The Governor was authorized to treat with the Oneidas and 
Onondagas for purchasing their reservations. 

Jones and Parish were captured by the Senecas during 
the revolutionary war — they resided long among the tribe, 
and were afterward employed as interpreters by the gov- 
ernment. 

The Oneidas. 

1802. An agreement with the Oneidas resulted in se- 
curing more of their lands for an additional annual payment. 

1803. The Oneida nation of Indians, suffering much ow- 
ing to their corn-crops having been cut off the previous 
year, besought the Legislature to pay a portion of the annu- 
ity in advance, to enable them to purchase the necessaries 
of life. 

1804. Arrangements were made for rendering the pro- 
ceeds of 1000 acres of land, belonging to the New-Stock- 
bridge Indians, available in their annual products for sup- 
porting a school on their reservation. 



120 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

The Cayugas. 
1807. The Cayugas ceded their two reservations on 
Cayuga Lake, the one two miles square, the other one mile 
square, for $4800, paid to Jasper Parish for them. 

The Oneidas. 

1807. The Christian party of the Oneidas ceded " the 
Canastota Tract" — the Indians to be paid a sum equal to 
six per cent, annually on the valuation of the lands. 

1809. A treaty at Albany with the Christian party of the 
Oneidas provided for the purchase of their reservation, con- 
sisting of 7500 acres — $600 to be paid down, $1000 soon 
after, and an annual payment equivalent to six per cent, on 
the then value of the lands. 

1809. The Pagan party likewise sold lands for $1000 — 
and an annuity equal to six per cent, on the value of the 
lands, after deducting the $1000. 

Protection of the Indians. 

1812. Persons other than Indians were fordidden, under 
penalties of fine or imprisonment, to treat, settle, or reside 
on any of the Indian Reservations within the state. 

1813. A penalty of $25 for every tree, with costs of suit, 
was denounced against those who trespassed by cutting tim- 
ber on the Indian lands within this state. 

The Oneidas. 

1813. The Governor was authorized to hold a treaty with 
" the Oneida nation of Indians, or the Christian and Pagan 
party thereof," or any other of the Indian nations or tribes 
within the state, " for the purpose of extinguishing their 
claim to such part of their lands lying within this state as 
he may deem proper, for such sums and annuities as might 
be mutually agreed upon by the parties." 

The Pagan party of Oneidas were authorized to retain for 
their own use and occupation the lot belonging to the state, 
situate on the southwest side of Oneida Creek, and extend- 
ing from the mouth of Mud Creek to the division line between 
the Pagan and Christian parties, so called, containing about 
428 acres, until otherwise disposed of by law. 

1815. The lands bought at the last treaty with the Chris- 
tian party of the Oneida Indians (pursuant to the power con- 
ferred on the governor by the law of April 5, 1813), was 



THE LANDS OF THE SIX NATIONS. 121 

ordered to be surveyed into lots of 160 acres — no occupant 
or settler, other than Indians, to be allowed for any improve- 
ments — and no improved land occupied by any Indian to be 
sold before the occupant should have relinquished his im- 
provement to the people of the state, if such improvement 
should be of the value of $20. 

Seneca Lands. 

1815. The Legislature voted that the land north of and 
adjoining Black Rock, called the Garrison Lot, bought from 
the Senecas for the purpose of being ceded to the general 
government for a military post (vide law of 1802), together 
with land owned by the state adjoining the village of Lewis- 
ton, should be sold in small lots — and the surveyor-general 
was authorized to make such changes in the plans of Black 
Rock and Lewiston as he might deem advisable, without 
prejudicing the rights of persons who had already bought 
lots in those villages. 

Relief of Indians. 

1817. The Governor having represented to the Legisla- 
ture that great distress prevailed among the St. Regis, Onei- 
da, Onondaga, and Seneca Indians, " on account of the de- 
struction of their corn the last season, and of the general 
scarcity of other usual means of support," provision was 
made for advancing such portions of the annuities due those 
tribes as might be requested by their chiefs for the purpose 
of procuring the necessaries of life. 

Stockhridge, Oneida, fyc. 

1817. White persons were forbidden, under any pretext 
whatever, from receiving from any Indian residing on the 
lands of the Mohekonnic or Stockbridge Indians, or on the 
reservation of the Oneida or Brothertown Indians, any 
pawns or pledges ; and forfeiture of the pledges, as well as 
fines, were affixed as penalties for violations of the law. 

Lands of the Onondagas. 

1817. The lands bought " at a late treaty with the Onon- 
daga Indians" were ordered to be surveyed into lots of 160 
acres, and sold, the proceeds to be paid into the treasury. 
11 



122 



SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 



1818. The law recited that, " whereas, by the treaty with 
the Onondagas on the 28th July, 1795, it was stipulated that 
the tribe should receive an annuity of $2000, payable half 
at Canandaigua and half at Oneida : and whereas the recent 
removal of the whole tribe to Onondaga renders it necessary 
that the whole sum should be there paid, in order to a more 
equitable distribution thereof :" therefore, it was enacted 
that the whole annuity should be paid to that tribe collected 
at Onondaga. 



1819. 

ture, on the condition 
their numbers, extent, 



Indians of this State in 
1819. A report made in the Legisla 
of the Indians of this state, represented 
and situation as follows : 

Reservation at Buffalo, 
" " Tonawanta, 

" " Cattaraugus, . 

11 " Allegany River, 

5 Reservations on Genesee River, 

Oil-Spring Reservation, 

Tuscarora 

Oneida 

Onondaga 

Stockbridge 

St. Regis 



Total, 271,323 4976 

The average value of the whole tracts was estimated at 
$6 per acre, amounting to $1,626,000. 

A resolution was adopted after this report, requesting the 
Governor " to co-operate with the U. S. Government in such 
measures as may be deemed most advisable, as far as it 
may be found practicable, to induce the several Indian tribes 
within the state to concentrate themselves in some suitable 
situation, under such provisions and subject to such regula- 
tions as may be judged most effectual to secure them the 
best means of protection, and instruction in piety and agri- 
culture, and gradually to extend to them the benefits of civi- 
lization ; and that he is authorized to take such measures, 
either with or without the co-operation of the government of 
the United States." 



Acres. 


Indians. 


83,557 


636 


46,209 


365 


26,880 


389 


30,469 


597 


31,648 


456 


640 


000 


1,920 


314 


20,000 


1031 


7,000 


300 


13,000 


438 


10,000 


400 



THE LANDS OP THE SIX NATIONS. 123 

Concluding Arrangements. 

Between the last-mentioned date and the present year 
(1838), the principal intercourse between the Six Nations 
and the State and National Governments referred to the re- 
moval westward in 1833 of such portions of the tribes as 
were disposed to emigrate. Some of these exiles located 
about Green Bay, others beyond the Mississippi. 

Within a few weeks past (February, 1838), arrangements 
have been made for extinguishing the Indian title to nearly 
every vestige of the former possessions of the Six Nations 
within the limits of this state ; and for the removal of the 
fragments of those tribes to a valuable tract westward of the 
Mississippi. 

The treaty was formed at Buffalo, R. Gillett acting as 
commissioner on the part of the United States, and Josiah 
Trowbridge appearing as superintendent in behalf of the 
State of Massachusetts, to which state, it will be recollected, 
the pre-emptive right to these Indian lands was ceded by 
the State of New- York in settlement of former conflicting 
claims. The improvement of the Reservation near Buffalo 
will be highly advantageous to that flourishing city. Not 
having seen an entire copy of the treaty, we copy an 
abstract of its provisions from the Buffalo Commercial Ad- 
vertiser, which is in accordance with the versions given 
by the other daily prints of that city, the Star and the 
Journal : — 

"By virtue of this instrument, the United States Govern- 
ment gives to said Indians 1,824,000 acres of land west of 
Missouri, being 320 acres for each person, to be held in fee 
simple by patent from the President, and never to be inclu- 
ded in any state. Government also gives them $30,000 for 
the support of a high school or college ; $20,000 for build- 
ings and enclosures for the poor, on their arrival at their 
new homes ; and $10,000 a year for five years, to be paid 
in farming utensils, domestic animals, &c. 

" The only cession of land to the government is of the 
Green Bay Tract, from which is excepted a reservation now 
occupied by the Oueidas. Those who do not remove to the 
new country in five years, or such time as the President may 
appoint, forfeit their right to the country set apart for them. 
The Senecas, Cayugas, Tuscaroras, and the Onondagas, 
residing on the Seneca Reservations, agree to remove in five 



124 SKETCHES OP. ROCHESTER, ETC. 

years, and a portion of the Oneidas are to do so as soon as 
the Governor of New-York will purchase their lands. 

" Several sums of money are to be paid to several nations 
and individuals, to remunerate them for losses and services 
which it is supposed the United States ought to pay. 

" A separate treaty has also been made with the Senecas 
and Tuscaroras, for the purchase of their lands (except 
one reservation conveyed by the latter to the United States 
in trust), by the representatives of the State of Massachu- 
setts, with the assent of a superintendent from that state. 
The consideration money for the sale of the Seneca Reserva- 
tion is to be paid to the United States, and be held in trust 
for the nation. One hundred thousand dollars of which is 
to be invested for the use of the nation, and the balance 
($102,000) is to be distributed among the owners of the im- 
provements on the reservations. The government agrees to 
have one of its agents reside among the Indians at their new 
homes, and to pay them their annuities there. The re- 
mainder of the other tribes could not make positive engage- 
ments to remove, until they arranged to dispose of their lands 
to the state, which owns the fee of them. 

"By this treaty the Tuscaroras cede to the Ogden Com- 
pany, who purchased the pre-emptive right, 1920 acres, to 
the United States about 5000 acres, of which the Indians 
owned the fee, and which is to be sold by the United States, 
and the nett proceeds paid to the Indians. 

" The Senecas cede to the pre-emptive owners about 
115,000 acres, all lying in the western part of the state — 
50,000 of which is the reservation near the City of Buffalo. 

" The other reservations are, one at Tonawanda, one at 
Cattaraugus, and one at Allegany. 

" The tract which the Indians obtain lies directly west of 
and adjoining the State of Missouri, being 27 miles wide, 
and about 106 deep. It is watered by the Little Osage, 
Marmaton, Neosho, and branches of the two Verdigris and 
Turkey-foot Rivers. These are all clear, rapid streams, 
abounding in fish. The country is healthy and fertile, 
with sufficient timber along the borders of the rivers for all 
practical uses. Besides this, on the tract are found coal, fine 
stone quarries, and, in the immediate vicinity, salt in abun- 
dance." 

Thus faded away the power of the Iroquois or Six Na- 
tions in the State of New-York. 



THE LANDS OF THE SIX NATIONS. 125 

[Note. — Opportunity is here taken to insert a notice of the 
good-will manifested by the national government towards 
certain Indians who were friendly, while the great body of 
the Confederacy were hostile through the revolutionary war. 
The notice was accidentally omitted from the proper order 
of dates ; and the omission is here supplied particularly to 
corroborate the remark made at the commencement of this 
article, touching the feelings manifested by the government 
towards the Six Nations, &c. The treaty made on the 2d 
of December, 1794, in the Oneida country, Timothy Pick- 
ering agent for the United States, ran thus : 

" Whereas, in the late war between Great Britain and the 
United States of America, a body of the Oneida, and Tusca- 
rora, and the Stockbridge Indians adhered faithfully to the 
United States, and assisted them with their warriors ; and, 
in consequence of this adherence and assistance, the Oneidas 
and Tuscaroras, at an unfortunate period of the war, were 
driven from their homes, and their houses were burnt, and 
their property destroyed : and as the United States, in the 
time of their distress, acknowledged their obligations to these 
faithful friends, and promised to reward them ; and the Uni- 
ted States being now in a condition to fulfil the promises 
then made, the following articles are stipulated by the re- 
spective parties for that purpose, to be in force when rati- 
fied by the President and Senate : 

Art. 1. The United States will pay the sum of five thou- 
sand dollars, to be distributed among individuals of the 
Oneida and Tuscarora nations, as a compensation for their 
individual losses and services during the late war between 
Great Britain and the United States. The only man of the 
Kaughnawaugas now remaining in the Oneida country, as 
well as some few very meritorious persons of the Stock- 
bridge Indians, will be considered in the distribution." 

The other articles provided for the erection of grist and 
saw mills, with the employment of men to teach the Indians 
the use of them, and for the erection of a church for the 
Oneidas instead of the edifice burnt by the British.] 

11* 



126 SKETCHES OF IJOCHESTER, ETC. 



A NEW STATE PROJECTED THE LESSEES, ETC. 

(Referred to in the Notices of Treaties.) 
1787. The unsettled condition of affairs about the close 
of the revolutionary war furnished opportunity for the par- 
tial execution of a daring project with reference to the lands 
of the Six Nations. The scheme of erecting a new state 
from this western portion of the territory of New-York was 
probably suggested or encouraged by the successful efforts 
of the Green Mountain Boys, in forming a new state called 
Vermont from our then northeastern counties of Cumberland 
and Gloucester. After a long contest with New- York, Ver- 
mont was, in 1777, declared independent of this state, as 
well as of Great Britain, by a solemn act of its inhabitants, 
who nevertheless joined heartily in the common cause of 
freedom against the British crown. 

It was during the years 1787-8 that the project with 
reference to the Indian lands of Western New-York was 
partially executed by an association of citizens, among 
whose names may be recognised some that became promi- 
nent in the subsequent history of the state.* 

This scheme for the creation of a new state was partially 
developed by the contracts made with the Six Nations for 
leasing most of their territories at an insignificant annuity 
($2000 per annum) for a twelvemonth short of a thousand 
years ! — the calculation obviously being that, before many 
of the nine hundred and ninety-nine years should have 
elapsed, the whites would have so multiplied in the Indian 
land as to bid defiance to the State of New- York, as well as 
to the Red Men upon whose territories they were encroach- 
ing under the specious pretext of a lease. (The law for- 
bade any purchase from the Indians without leave of the 
lawful authorities.) 

* Remonstrances from Poughkeepsie, Hudson, and other places, ex- 
press " surprise, anxiety, and concern at the efforts making by certain 
individuals to procure from the Legislature a recognition of their claims 
to that vast and valuable tract of country to the westward, now in pos- 
session of the Indian natives, and within and subject to the jurisdiction 
of the state." Fears were expressed that the objects of those Lessees 
tended to a dismemberment of that portion of the state from the juris- 
diction of New- York, &c. It is asserted in the Hudson memorial that 
secret and unwarrantable means had been employed by the Lessees in 
making their arrangements with some of the Indians. 



THE LANDS OF THE SIX NATIONS. 127 

But the Legislature promptly responded to the warning 
of Governor George Clinton and the motion of Senator Eg- 
bert Benson, by adopting measures for counteracting these 
schemes. The law of March, 1788, strengthening the for- 
mer enactments against intruders on Indian lands, to which 
the jurisdictional and pre-emptive rights were claimed by 
this state, was particularly levelled at these Lessees ; and 
the resolute course adopted against them, the Governor being 
authorized to use fire and sword if needful, at once crushed 
the adventurous project and destroyed the embryo state. 

The new law recited the importance of preserving amity 
with the Indians — of preventing frauds upon them, and of 
remedying the evils often occasioned by white men making 
contracts with the Indians, " which had in divers instances 
been productive of dangerous frauds and animosities." 
With these views, all contracts made with the Indians before 
October, 1775, and all contracts afterward, unless by au- 
thority of the state, were pronounced void ; and all persons 
were forbidden to buy or sell lands under such unlawful 
contracts with the Indians, under penalty of fine and impris- 
onment. Persons offending against this law, by settling on 
waste or -mgranted lands of the state between the eastern 
line of lands ceded to Massachusetts and the Property Line, 
were to be considered as holding by a foreign title against 
the right and sovereignty of the state ; and it was made the 
duty of the Governor to cause all such persons to be driven 
off and their buildings to be destroyed, by calling out any 
portion of the military force of the state. 

The Lessees, thus precluded from the prosecution of their 
plans, beset the Legislature for a grant of land ; and, about 
five years after the passage of the severe act by which 
their ambitious or avaricious hopes were effectually crushed, 
they succeeded (1793) in obtaining an appropriation of ten 
miles square, to be located at the discretion of the surveyor- 
general. Many of the prominent persons in this business 
are named in the appropriation law ; and the tract selected 
for their use by the surveyor-general was a part of the old 
Military Tract in the northern part of the state. 

The Lessees were likewise rewarded with some townships 
by Phelps and Gorham for services rendered in facilitating 
the arrangement between the latter and the Indians respect- 
ing the purchase of the right of soil in the land for which 
the pre-emptive right had been bought from Massachusetts, 



128 SKETCHES OF .ROCHESTER, ETC. 

Some information derived from Gen. Vincent Matthews, 
of Rochester, who resided in Tioga at the date of some of 
these transactions, induced us to examine the records in the 
public offices at Albany for the leases, which, as they have 
long lain unheeded, may be quoted here as curiosities con- 
nected with the early history of Western New-York, and 
not altogether irrelevant here, seeing that they covered the 
tract whereon the City of Rochester has recently sprung 
into existence. 

It will be seen that, after " consenting" to the sale made 
by the Indians to Phelps and Gorham, the Lessees modified 
their first lease (dated 30th November, 1787) by causing 
another to be made near the close of 1788, to preserve the 
appearance of a claim to the Indian lands extending east- 
ward from the "Pre-emption Line" (the east boundary of 
the Massachusetts lands) to the " Property Line," as the 
boundary was termed, which then marked the eastern limit 
of the •? Six Nations" in this state. 



The Lessee Contracts. — No. 1. 

1787. An agreement made on the 30th November, 1787, 
" between the chiefs or sachems of the Six Nations of In- 
dians of the one part, and John Livingston, Caleb Benton, 
Peter Ryckman, John Stevenson, and Ezekiel Gilbert, for 
themselves and their associates, of the County of Colum- 
bia and State of New- York, of the other part," witnessed 
that the said chiefs or sachems of the Six Nations, on 
certain considerations afterward mentioned, leased to the 
said John Livingston and his associates, for a period of 999 
years, " all the land commonly known as the lands of the 
Six Nations in the State of New- York, and at the time in 
the actual possession of the said chiefs or sachems." From 
this lease was excepted any tract of land which the chiefs 
or sachems might choose to reserve for themselves and 
their heirs — " said reservations to revert to the Lessees in 
case they should afterward be relinquished by the Indians," 
&c. The payments to be made by the Lessees and their suc- 
cessors were designated as " a yearly rent of two thousand 
Spanish milled dollars, payable on the 4th of July in each 
year of the 999 for which the lease was drawn." Among 
the signatures of Indians attached to this lease are the marks 
of Anayawas, or Farmer's Brother, Kyantwaka, or John 



THE LANDS OF THE SIX NATIONS. 129 

Abeel, Sigowaka, or Red Jacket, Little Beard, &c. N. 
Eosecrantz, George Stimson, Joseph Smith, and Peter Bor- 
til, Jr., are names subscribed as witnesses. 

The Lessee Contracts. — No. 2. 
1788. Whereas, the Six Nations of Indians, by their 
sachems and warriors, did, by a certain deed bearing date 
Nov. 30th, 1787, lease to John Livingston and his associates 
all the tract known as the lands of the Six Nations within 
the State of New-York, for a period of 999 years, at an an- 
nual rent of $2000 : And whereas, at a treaty held at Buf- 
falo Creek with all the aforesaid Six Nations, in presence of 
their superintendents, the said Six Nations, by their chiefs, 
sachems, and warriors, by and with the consent and agree- 
ment of the said John Livingston and his associates, granted 
and sold to Oliver Phelps and Nathaniel Gorham, of Massa- 
chusetts, a certain seat of land contained within the afore- 
said demise or lease, comprehended within that part of the 
territory of the said Six Nations whereof the right of pre-emp- 
tion had been ceded by the said State of New-York to the 
Commonwealth of Massachusetts : And whereas the said 
Six Nations have reserved to their own use the residue of 
all the land contained within the said part whereof the right 
of pre-emption hath been ceded as aforesaid : And whereas, 
from the aforementioned sale and reservation, there remains 
subject to the aforementioned lease all the other lands men- 
tioned and contained in the aforesaid lease, the right of pre- 
emption whereof hath not been ceded to the Commonwealth 
of Massachusetts as aforesaid, excepting and reserving what 
is hereinafter excepted and reserved, and to be made upon 
the condition hereinafter mentioned, to wit : First excepting 
and reserving one mile square near the outlet of the Cayuga 
Lake, and one of the Onondaga salt-springs, with 100 acres 
of land adjacent to the same, to accommodate the same with 
firewood and other conveniences ; also excepting and re- 
serving to the aforesaid Indians one half of the Falls, and 
convenient places for wiers for the purpose of catching fish 
and eels from the Cross Lake to the Three Rivers : also 
reserving an exclusive right to one of the salt-springs near 
Onondaga, with fifty or one hundred acres of land around 
the same for firewood and other conveniences for boiling 
salt, together with an equal right in common for eeling and 
fishing so far as to the Oneida Lake. All which reserva- 



130 SKETCHES OP ROCHESTER, ETC. 

tions, as well as the annual rent itself hereafter mentioned 
and reserved to be paid to the said Indians, are made and 
given upon this express condition, that whenever the afore- 
said Indians shall part or dispose of the same or any of 
them, then, in that case, the New- York Geneva Company 
shall have the right of acquiring the same. Wherefore 
know ye, That, in consideration of the several matters above 
mentioned, and of the sales, exceptions, and reservations 
abovementioned, whereby the lands in the aforesaid indenture 
contained now remaining subject to the aforesaid lease are 
greatly reduced in quantity — We, the sachems, chiefs, and 
warriors of the said Six Nations, lessors in the aforesaid 
demise, have exonerated the Lessees and their assigns for 
ever from the payment of $1000, or one equal half of the 
annual rent or sum of money in the aforesaid indenture re- 
served and made payable to the Six Nations. (The 4th of 
July, 1791, was fixed as the day for the commencement of 
the annual payments of rent under the lease as now modified 
— payable in cattle, at reasonable prices, to be delivered at 
Canadasago [near Geneva] each year during the period of 
the lease.) 

With these alterations, we, the same sachems, chiefs, and 
warriors, do, by these presents, hold good and valid, and con- 
firm to the Lessees the aforesaid demise heretofore made, to 
all intents and purposes, during the term and continuance 
thereof, &e. 

This lease is signed by several chiefs of the Oneidas, 
Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas, as well as Mohawks. 
Among the Mohawks appears the signature of " Jos. Brant 
Thayendanegea ;" and the names attached to the marks X 
of the other chiefs appear to be in the handwriting of that 
noted Mohawk. The name of Red Jacket is spelt Shago- 
yeghwatha. There are also attached the names of seven 
of the " chief women." The witnesses were Samuel Kirk- 
land the missionary, Jas. Dean the interpreter, Jos. Brant, 
David Smith, Ben. Barton, M. Holienback, Elisha Lee, and 
Ez. Scott. 



Treaty between Phelps and Gorham and the Six Nations. 

(Referred to in the previous Notices.) 

1788. The conflicting interests of New-York and Massa- 
chusetts having been reconciled by the amicable arrange- 
ment between the commissioners of both states at the close 



THE LANDS OF THE SIX NATIONS. 131 

of 1786 — the pre-emptive right, or right of purchasing the 
right of soil from the Indian occupants, being vested in Mas- 
sachusetts, while the sovereignty was conceded to New- 
York — the Legislature of Massachusetts, in 1787, sold the 
tract, containing about six millions of acres, to Oliver Phelps 
and Nathaniel Gorham, for one million of dollars, payable in 
three instalments. 

The pre-emptive right being thus secured, Phelps and Gor- 
ham made energetic preparations that year for exploring and 
surveying their great purchase. 

Accordingly, in the summer of 1788, Oliver Phelps left 
Granville, Massachusetts, with men and means adequate to 
the arduous enterprise. It may seem strange to many of 
the million who are now revelling in the comforts and pros- 
perity which the last half-century has diffused through all 
Western New-York, that the course of Phelps and his asso- 
ciates should have been then considered so hazardous, that 
the whole neighbourhood assembled to bid them adieu — a 
final adieu ! as many thought ; for it seemed a desperate 
chance that any of that intrepid band should ever return 
from their enterprise through a region to which the Indian 
title had not been extinguished, and which was hardly yet 
tranquillized from the shocking atrocities that marked the 
savage warfare in our revolutionary strife. But the enter- 
prise was in truth of a character which measurably justified 
such fears in his neighbours, as the reflecting reader may 
imagine, and as the history of the times will show. 

The wilderness was successfully penetrated as far as 
Canandaigua, about 130 miles west of the German Flats in 
Herkimer county, the then sparsely-settled frontier of civi- 
lization. In connexion with the Rev. Samuel Kirkland, the 
well-known missionary among the Six Nations, and a com- 
missioner in behalf of the State of Massachusetts, Mr. 
Phelps succeeded speedily in collecting the chiefs and war- 
riors of those tribes, whose warlike spirit still rankled with 
the chastisement inflicted a few years previously by the 
avenging arms of Sullivan. A conference was held with the 
Red Men on a beautiful acclivity overlooking Canandaigua 
Lake — where the romantic scenery, combined with the in- 
teresting subject of deliberation, and the warmth with which 
that subject was discussed by such chiefs as Red Jacket and 
Farmer's Brother, rendered the whole scene one of thrilling 
interest. 



132 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

The great object of this remarkable council was happily 
accomplished. The Indian title to more than two millions 
of acres (in which the site of the present City of Rochester 
was included in an amusing manner)* was extinguished, 
though not without opposition from Red Jacket, which threat- 
ened defeat to the hopes, if not destruction to the lives, of 
Phelps and his associates. The critical scene may be ap- 
propriately delineated here, in the language of one conversant 
with the subject, as quoted from an article printed some 
years ago in the New-York American. 

" Two days had passed away in negotiation with the In- 
dians for a cession of their lands. The contract was sup- 
posed to be nearly completed, when Red Jacket arose. 
With the grace and dignity of a Roman senator, he drew his 
blanket around him, and with a piercing eye surveyed the 
multitude. All was hushed. Nothing interposed to break 
the silence, save the rustling of the tree-tops under whose 
shade they were gathered. After a long and solemn, but 
not unmeaning pause, he commenced his speech in a low 
voice and sententious style. Rising gradually with his sub- 
ject, he depicted the primitive simplicity and happiness 
of his nation, and the wrongs they had sustained from the 
usurpations of the white man, with such a bold but faithful 
pencil, that the Indian auditors were soon roused to ven- 
geance or melted into tears. 

" The effect was inexpressible. But, ere the emotions of 
admiration and sympathy had subsided, the white men be- 
came alarmed. They were in the heart of an Indian coun- 
try, surrounded by more than ten times their number, who 
were inflamed by the remembrance of their injuries, and ex- 
cited to indignation by the eloquence of a favourite chief. 
Appalled and terrified, the white men cast a cheerless gaze 
upon the hordes around them. A nod from the chiefs might 
be the onset of destruction. At that portentous moment, 
Farmer's Brother interposed. He replied not to his brother 
chief; but, with a sagacity truly aboriginal, he caused a ces- 
sation of the council, introduced good cheer, commended the 
eloquence of Red Jacket, and, before the meeting had re- 
assembled, with the aid of other prudent chiefs, he had mod- 

* The site of Rochester, forming part of the tract of twelve by twenty- 
four miles bestowed for a millyard ! (See notices of the "Early Millers 
of the Genesee," &c. in this work.) 



THE LANDS OF THE SIX NATIONS. 133 

erated the fury of his nation to a more salutary review of 
the question before them," 

The reassemblage of the council in cooler blood was fol- 
lowed by the satisfactory arrangement of the treaty. The 
inveterate antipathy of Red Jacket to the white man — a feel- 
ing which characterized his whole life, albeit he faithfully 
observed treaties when once formed, however much he op- 
posed their formation — was fortunately neutralized on this 
occasion by Farmer's Brother, the grand sachem, to whose 
integrity and wisdom, as well as to the same qualities some- 
what differently displayed in Red Jacket, strong testimony 
is borne by those most conversant with the transactions of 
the Six Nations. 

When we consider the present condition of Western New- 
York, with its magnificent improvements, its cities and towns, 
and canals and railroads, and immense agricultural riches, 
improved by a thrifty and enlightened people — and when we 
reflect on what might have been the results had the settle- 
ment of this region been retarded by the influence of Red 
Jacket with the Indian Confederacy which then ranged these 
regions as their hunting-grounds, we may well consider this 
council at Canandaigua, with reference not merely to the 
improvement of this state, but to the whole of the great West, 
to which this region is now the principal thoroughfare, as 
one of the most important events in our Indian history. 

Some interesting facts connected with the operations of 
Phelps and Gorham are annexed, from the sketches prefixed 
to the Rochester Directory for 1827 (published by Everard 
Peck and Elisha Ely). 

" After the treaty, Mr. Phelps surveyed the land into 
tracts, denominated Ranges, running north and south, and 
subdivided the ranges into tracts of six miles square, denom- 
inated Townships, and designated each by numbers, begin- 
ning to number both ranges and townships at the 82d mile- 
stone, in the southeast corner of the tract [now the southeast 
corner of Steuben county], numbering the townships north- 
wardly to the lake from one to fourteen, and the ranges 
westwardly from one to seven. Thus, Bath is designated 
as township number four, in the third range ; Canandaigua 
as township number ten, in the third range ; Pittsford as 
number twelve, in the fifth range ; and Brighton as number 

12 



134 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

thirteen, in the seventh range of townships, in Gorham and 
Phelps's Purchase. 

" As the Genesee River runs about 24° east of north be- 
low Avon, and Mr. Phelps continued his seventh range of 
townships to the lake, the fifth range was left to contain but 
twelve, and the sixth range but ten townships ; and, in order 
to square the tract lying west of Genesee River, he set off 
two townships near the lake, which he called the Short 
Range, now comprising the towns of Gates and Greece [and 
part of Rochester] ; and the present towns of Caledonia, 
Wheatland, Chili, Riga, Ogden, and Parma, being then four 
townships, he called the first range of townships west of 
Genesee Rive?', in Gorham and Phelps's Purchase. 

" This tract formed the counties of Ontario and Steuben 
for many years, until 1821, when Monroe and Livingston 
counties were formed, except that part of it lying west of 
the river, which was annexed to the county of Genesee at 
its organization in 1802, and the south part of the seventh 
range set off from Steuben to Allegany. 

14 In 1789, Oliver Phelps opened a land-office in Canan- 
daigua — this was the first land-office in America for the sale 
of her forest-lands to settlers ; and the system which he 
adopted for the survey of his lands, by townships and ranges, 
became a model for the manner of surveying all the new 
lands in the United States ; and the method of making his 
retail sales to settlers by articles has also been adopted by 
all the other land-offices of individual proprietorships that 
have followed after him. 

u The Article was a new device, of American origin, un- 
known in the English system of conveyancing ; granting the 
possession, but not the fee of the land ; facilitating the fre- 
quent changes among new settlers, enabling them to sell out 
their improvements and transfer their possession by assign- 
ment, and securing the reversion of the possession to the 
proprietor where they abandoned the premises. His land- 
sales were allodial ; and the other land-offices following his 
example, have rendered the Genesee farmers all fee-simple 
landholders, which has increased the value of the soil and 
the enterprise of the people. 

" Oliver Phelps may be considered the Cecrops of the 
Genesee country. Its inhabitants owe a mausoleum to his 
memory, in gratitude for his having pioneered for them the 
wilderness of this Canaan of the West." 



THE LANDS OF THE SIX NATIONS. 135 

In connexion with the foregoing remarks upon the lands of 
Western New- York, it may be well to notice 

The Controversy with Connecticut. 

Between Connecticut and New-York, as between Massa- 
chusetts and New-York, disputes respecting boundary arose 
at an early period. These disputes were arranged in 1733, 
as was generally supposed, by an agreement for running be- 
tween the. colonies a line parallel with and twenty miles 
eastward of the Hudson River. But this arrangement does 
not appear to have been considered by Connecticut as inval- 
idating a claim to lands extending westward within a prolon- 
gation of the latitudinal lines which form her northern and 
southern boundaries. The charter of Connecticut, like that 
of Massachusetts, included territory from sea to sea — from 
Atlantic to Pacific. The map will show how such claims 
would have swept through New- York, Pennsylvania, &c. 
As the arrangement with Massachusetts has been fully allu- 
ded to, it may not be thought irrelevant to notice the trans- 
actions between New-York and Connecticut on the subject. 

The revival of the claim by Connecticut in 1750 produced 
some difficulty about the period of the revolutionary war. 
The claim covered much of the southern portion of New- 
York, the northern part of Pennsylvania, and thence west- 
ward, including what is now known as the Connecticut Re- 
serve in Ohio. In consonance with this claim, a colony 
from Connecticut settled on a tract lying beside the Susque- 
hannah, within the limits of Pennsylvania. The tragical 
fate of this colony has rendered Wyoming celebrated in his- 
tory and song. The controversy between Connecticut and 
Pennsylvania, which continued from 1750 down to a recent 
period, was finally settled in favour of the latter, under con- 
ciliations and restrictions determined by special acts of the 
Pennsylvania Legislature and the decisions of the Supreme 
Court of the Union. — (Am. Enc.) 

Settlements under Connecticut grants were also made 
within the present limits of the State of New- York, on a nar- 
row strip of land along the northern boundary of Pennsylva- 
nia. The people of this state, having amicably arranged a 
similar difficulty with Massachusetts, were not disposed to 
permit a continuance of the claims of Connecticut after the 
arrangement of boundary made in 1733, and after Connecti- 
cut (in common with Pennsylvania) had refused to contribute 



136 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

any share of the expenses incurred by intercourse with the 
Six Nations in the French war — the Legislature of Connec- 
ticut having declared in 1746 that it was M unreasonable for 
New- York to expect from them the assistance desired, inas- 
much as those Indians were within the territory and govern- 
ment of New-York." — (Smith's Hist.) The feelings with 
which the claims of Connecticut were viewed by the Legis- 
lature of New- York are sufficiently indicated by the pre- 
amble and provisions of the law of March, 1796. 

After stating that " certain persons, under pretence of title 
derived from a quit-claim grant from the State of Connecti- 
cut, for a considerable extent of territory within this state, 
endeavoured, by various improper practices, to draw into 
question the jurisdiction of this state over the said territory, 
excite opposition to the lawful authority thereof, and defame 
the titles of persons holding lands by grants from the colony 
or State of New- York," the law provided that, if any person 
should intrude or settle upon lands in this state, under titles 
derived from Connecticut by reason of the claim above-men- 
tioned, such persons should be deemed as holding such lands 
by a foreign title against the sovereignty of this state ; that 
the Governor should take prompt measures for removing all 
such intruders and destroying their buildings; and that he 
should be authorized to call out the militia for the purpose, 
if necessary. Fine and imprisonment were denounced against 
persons who should buy or sell any grants under this claim 
of Connecticut, with the addition that any citizen of New- 
York so offending should be disabled for ever from electing 
or being elected to any office or trust within the state. The 
sheriffs of Otsego, Tioga, and Ontario were specially charged 
to report to the Governor the names of all offenders within 
their limits, which then swept along the north line of Penn- 
sylvania to Lake Erie. It was likewise provided that the 
Governor should direct the attorney-general to defend all 
suits which might be instituted against any of our citizens by 
persons claiming under the pretended right of Connecticut. 

Suits were instituted by the Connecticut claimants, not 
in the tribunals of this state, but in the United States Court 
at Hartford. This movement was encountered by a severe 
law on the part of the New-York Legislature, passed in 
August, 1798, to the effect that, 

"As evil-minded persons, under pretence of authority 
from other states or from the general government of the 






THE LANDS OF THE SIX NATIONS. 137 

United States, to serve process within the State or District of 
New- York, had excited disturbances among the citizens of 
this state ; and as much mischief is apprehended from such 
practices by means that our citizens are called out of their 
proper jurisdiction to answer such illegal processes, and may 
be much harassed in defending the same ; and as the entire 
jurisdiction of this state ought to be preserved and respect- 
ed— 

" Therefore, persons executing such process were declared 
guilty of high misdemeanour (should they presume to come 
within the state without authority from the United States), 
subject to the state prison for seven years, at hard labour or 
solitude, or both, at the discretion of the court ; and, to cause 
the law to be rigidly enforced, any citizen of the state should 
be paid $500 for causing the apprehension of each transgres- 
sor." 

The suits brought in the United States Court for Con- 
necticut District, sitting at Hartford, were quashed after ar- 
guments from Gen. Hamilton and Colonel Burr denying the 
jurisdiction of the court. Lawrence Parsons and Pierpont 
Edwards were the counsel for Connecticut. 

But, though the question was thus disposed of on techni- 
cal grounds rather than on its merits, it was not revived in 
the face of the severe penalties denounced by the State of 
New- York against any persons within our limits who should 
attempt to carry out the views of Connecticut upon the dis- 
puted territory. 

In connexion with this subject, it may be added, that the 
Connecticut delegates in Congress in 1786, by authority of 
their state legislature, relinquished all claim under their 
colonial charter to lands lying west of a north and south 
line 120 miles west of the west boundary-line of the State 
of Pennsylvania, " as now claimed by that state :" the space 
included in that distance, and between the same parallels of 
latitude that formed the north and south boundaries of Con- 
necticut Proper, was afterward known as the Western Re- 
serve ; and the sales of land in which tract, containing 
3,300,000 acres, enabled Connecticut to boast of her ample 
school-fund. 

But the terms of this cession were not satisfactory to 
Congress. Serious controversies having been continued, as 
we have seen, by the claims which Connecticut could, not 
inconsistently with that cession, put forth against states lying 

12* 



138 SKETCHES OP ROCHESTER, ETC. 

between her own proper boundaries (agreed on in 1733) 
and the territory which she reserved west of Pennsylvania. 
By an act of April, 1800, Congress significantly authorized 
the President to release all claims of the United States to 
the soil of the Western Reserve, on condition that Connec- 
ticut should for ever relinquish all claim of jurisdiction over 
all lands west, northwest, or southwest of the boundary-line 
agreed on in 1733 between New-York and Connecticut. In 
the same year the Legislature of Connecticut promptly com- 
plied with the suggestions of Congress, renouncing all ter- 
ritorial and jurisdictional claim whatever to any lands west 
of the eastern boundary of the State of New- York, excepting 
only from this renunciation the claim to the soil of the West- 
ern Reserve, the jurisdiction of which reserve was also 
ordered to be formally released to the United States, and 
was afterward vested in the State of Ohio, of which state 
this reserve forms the northeastern part. 

And Virginia having previously surrendered all her large 
claims, thus peaceably was terminated all controversy be- 
tween individual states and the United States respecting the 
invaluable region northwest of the Ohio — a region in which 
new states have arisen with a vigour and suddenness indic- 
ative of the energy of our countrymen and the excellence 
of our institutions. Thus was formed the arrangement by 
which Connecticut, like Massachusetts, relinquished politi- 
cal jurisdiction over regions through which their emigrant 
sons have largely aided in founding states wherein the moral 
influence of New-England will be felt when time shall 
have swept other empires from the earth. 



Statement relative to Indian Annuities now payable by the State oj 
New-York, furnished by A. C. Flagg, the Comptroller. 
Oneida Nation, .... $5169 28 

1 Christian Party of same, . . 1322 43 

2 . 120 85 
Pagan Party " . . 332 48 

$6945 04 

Onondagas residing at Onondaga, . 1430 00 

" at Buffalo, . 1000 00 

2430 00 

Cayugas, 2300 00 

Senecas, 500 00 

Posterity of Fish-carrier, a Cayuga chief, . 50 00 

St. Regis Indians, 2398 33 

Brothertown Indians, 2142 79 

Stockbridge « 371 00 



SUBDIVISIONS OF WESTERN NEW-YORK. 



THE HOLLAND PURCHASE. 



Some of the most important arrangements of the tract 
transferred by Massachusetts to Phelps and Gorham (in- 
cluding the site of the City of Rochester) are traced in the 
following " Deduction of Titles to the several Tracts of Land 
in the State of New- York composing the section of country 
called the Holland Purchase," furnished by authority of the 
Company some years ago. 

The present importance of the territory may render this 
information generally interesting, while, for purposes of ref- 
erence, the statements imbodied here may save many from 
the trouble of seeking it in a less accessible form : — 

The title to a large portion of the territory within the now 
acknowledged limits of the State of New- York, including 
the whole of the Genesee country, was a subject of contro- 
versy between the provinces of New-York and Massachu- 
setts, both as to the right of property and the right of juris- 
diction, prior to the revolution — the disputed territory being 
claimed by each province in virtue of ancient grants and 
charters under the crown of England. 

King James I., in 1620, granted to the Plymouth Com- 
pany a tract of land called New-England, running through 
the continent from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean ; part 
of which, also extending to the Pacific, was granted to Sir 
Henry Roswell and his associates, called the Massachusetts 
Bay Company. 

The first charter of Massachusetts, granted by King 
Charles I. in 1628, appears to have been vacated by quo 
warranto in 1684. A second charter was granted by Wil- 
liam and Mary in 1691, in which the territorial limits of the 
province, although differently bounded, are also made to ex- 
tend westwardly to the Pacific Ocean. 



140 SKETCHES OP ROCHESTER, ETC. 

The Province of New-'York was granted in 1663 by 
Charles II. to the Duke of York and Albany (afterward 
King James II.), who subsequently granted to Berkeley and 
Carteret the Province of New-Jersey. The remainder of 
the country comprehended in the grant of King Charles II. 
constituted the Province of New-York, which always claimed 
to extend her limits, both as to the right of property and ju- 
risdiction, as far north as the bounds of Canada. 

Of the territory which, by the treaty of peace of 1783, 
was ceded by Great Britain to the United States in their col- 
lective capacity, each of the individual states claimed such 
portions as were comprehended within their original grants 
or charters. 

Massachusetts consequently laid claim to a strip of land 
extending to the westerly bounds of the United States, thus 
dividing the State of New- York into two parts. 

The Legislature of Massachusetts, by two acts passed 
13th November, 1784, and 17th March, 1785, authorized a 
cession by their delegates in Congress to the United States 
of such parts of the territory between the Hudson and Mis- 
sissippi Rivers as the delegates might think proper ; under 
which authority a deed of cession was executed by the del- 
egates on the 18th of April, 1785. 

By this deed all the territory lying westward of a merid- 
ian line to be drawn from the latitude of forty-five degrees 
north, through the most westerly bend of Lake Ontario, or 
a meridian line drawn through a point twenty miles due 
west from the most westerly bend of the Niagara River 
(which ever line should be found to be most to the west), 
was ceded to the United States. 

The State of New- York had previously limited her west- 
ern boundary to the same line — an instrument to that effect, 
dated 1st March, 1781, having been executed by her dele- 
gates in Congress, under the authority of an act passed 19th 
February, 1780. 

The acceptance of these cessions by the United States 
maybe considered as a full recognition of the rights of Mas- 
sachusetts and New- York to such of the territories within 
the limits of their respective charters as were not included 
in the cessions ; but the interfering claims of the two states 
as to those territories being left still unsettled, they were 
brought under the cognizance of Congress in pursuance of 
the articles of confederation, and a court was instituted to 



SUBDIVISIONS OF WESTERN NEW- YORK. 141 

decide thereon according to the provisions of the ninth arti- 
cle : But no decision was made by that tribunal, the con- 
troversy being finally settled by the convention between the 
two states, concluded at Hartford on the 16th of December, 
1786. 

By this arrangement Massachusetts ceded to New- York 
all claim to the government, sovereignty, and jurisdiction of 
the lands in controversy ; and New- York ceded to Massa- 
chusetts and to her grantees, and to their heirs and assigns 
for ever, the right of pre-emption of the soil from the native 
Indians, and all other the estate, right, title, and property of 
New- York, except the right and title of government, sover- 
eignty, and jurisdiction (among others) to all the lands within 
the following limits and bounds, viz. : " Beginning in the 
north boundary-line of the State of Pennsylvania, in the par- 
allel of forty-two degrees of north latitude, at a point distant 
eighty-two miles west from the northeast corner of the 
State of Pennsylvania, on Delaware River, as the said 
boundary-line has been run and marked by the commission- 
ers appointed by the States of Pennsylvania and New- York 
respectively, and from the said point or place of beginning 
running on a due meridian north to the boundary-line be- 
tween the United States of America and the King of Great 
Britain ; thence westerly and southerly along the said bound- 
ary-line to a meridian which will pass one mile due east 
from the northern termination of the strait or waters between 
Lake Ontario and Lake Erie ; thence south along the said 
meridian to the south shore of Lake Ontario ; thence on 
the eastern side of the said strait, by a line always one 
mile distant from the parallel to the said strait to Lake Erie ; 
thence due west to the boundary-line between the United 
States and the King of Great Britain ; thence along the said 
boundary-line until it meets with the line of cession from the 
State of New- York to the United States ; thence along the 
said line of cession to the northwestern corner of the State 
of Pennsylvania ; and thence east along the northern bound- 
ary-line of the State of Pennsylvania to the said place of be- 
ginning." 

The meridian line which forms the eastern boundary of 
this cession passes through the Seneca Lake ; so that, 
within the limits of the ceded territory, as defined in the 
foregoing account, are comprehended all the lands at any 



142 SKETCHES OP ROCHESTER, ETC. 

time owned or claimed by the Holland Land Company, in 
the western part of the State of New-York. 

The State of Massachusetts, by a resolve of the Legislature 
passed 1st April, 1788, contracted to sell to Oliver Phelps 
and Nathaniel Gorham the right of pre-emption in all the 
tract of country ceded by the Convention of the 16th of De- 
cember, 1786. On the 8th of July, 1788, Gorham and 
Phelps made a treaty with the Indians, by which the Indian 
claim to a part of the ceded territory was released to Gor- 
ham and Phelps. 

The part so released is thus described in the treaty — 
"Beginning in the northern boundary-line of the State of 
Pennsylvania, in the parallel of 42° N., at a point distant 
82 miles from the northeast corner of Pennsylvania on 
Delaware River ; thence running west upon the said line to 
a meridian passing through the point of land made by the 
confluence of the Shanahasgwaikon [or Canaseraga] Creek 
with the waters of the Genesee River; thence north along 
the said meridian to the point last mentioned ; thence north- 
wardly along the waters of the Genesee River to a point 
two miles north of Canawagus village [near Avon] ; thence 
due west 12 miles; thence in a direction northwardly so 
as to be 12 miles distant from the most westward bend of 
the Genesee River to Lake Ontario ; thence eastwardly along 
the said lake to a meridian which will pass through the place 
of beginning, and thence south along the said meridian to the 
place of beginning." 

This tract was confirmed to Gorham and Phelps by an 
act of the Legislature of Massachusetts, passed 21st No- 
vember, 1788. 

Gorham and Phelps having afterward failed to fulfil the 
terms of their contract, on the 15th of February, 1790, made 
proposals in writing to the Legislature of Massachusetts, 
offering to surrender two thirds in quantity and value of the 
whole of the contracted lands — two of their three bonds for 
£100,000 each (given for the purchase-money) being can- 
celled — the tract released by the Indians was to be retained 
by Gorham and Phelps, although the contents should exceed 
one third of the whole, and in such case .the surplus was to 
be paid for in money, at the average price of the whole. 

Further proposals were submitted by Gorham and Phelps 
on the^26th February and on the 1st March, 1790, which, 
taken together, were accepted by the Legislature, but reserv- 



SUBDIVISIONS OP WESTERN NEW- YORK. 143 

ing to themselves the right of accepting in preference, at any- 
time within one year, the previous proposals of 15th Febru- 
ary, 1790. An indenture was accordingly entered into be- 
tween Massachusetts and Gorham and Phelps, dated 9th 
June, 1790, by which, after reciting the proposals of 15th 
and 26th of February, and 1st of March, 1790, and the 
proceedings of the Legislature thereon, Gorham and Phelps 
released to Massachusetts two equal undivided third parts 
of the whole tract of country ceded by New- York — provided 
that, in the partition thereof, Gorham and Phelps's one third 
should be assigned to them within the limits of their pur- 
chase of the Indians ; and that, if that purchase should in- 
clude more than one third of the whole, they (Gorham and 
Phelps) should pay for the surplus. The deed contained also 
covenants for the purchase by Gorham and Phelps of two 
fourths of the two thirds so released pursuant to the propo- 
sals of 26th February, 1790 ; but it was nevertheless pro- 
vided and mutually agreed, that Massachusetts or her as- 
signs should and might, at any time within one year next 
ensuing the 5th day of March then last past, assume and 
hold (giving notice thereof to Gorham and Phelps) the whole 
of the two third parts of the lands thereby released, subject 
only to the claims of Gorham and Phelps to the said surplus, 
according to the proposals of the 15th February, 1790. In 
pursuance of the right thus reserved to Massachusetts, the 
Legislature, by a concurrent resolution, passed in the Senate 
on the 17th, and in the House of Representatives on the 18th 
of February, 1791, declared their election that the two third 
parts of said lands should remain the exclusive property of 
the commonwealth, of which resolution notice was given to 
Gorham and Phelps on the 19th February, 1791, by the 
Secretary of the Commonwealth. It is understood that the 
tract described in the Indian release exceeded both in quan- 
tity and value one third of the whole territory. That tract, 
with the exception of the parts sold, and two townships re- 
served by Gorham and Phelps, was subsequently sold by 
them to Robert Morris, and is described in the conveyance, 
dated 18th November, 1790, as containing 2,100,000 acres. 
The whole transaction in relation to Gorham and Phelps's 
purchase was finally settled by an indenture entered into be- 
tween them and Massachusetts, dated 10th March, 1791 — in 
pursuance of which, the balance due from Gorham and Phelps, 
in respect to their retained portion of the entire territory, 



144 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

was paid on the 6th April; 1813, and entered in the treasu- 
rer's books. 

By a concurrent resolution of the Legislature of Massa- 
chusetts, passed on the 8th March, 1791, and duly approved 
by the Governor, a committee of each branch was appointed, 
with power to negotiate a sale to Samuel Ogden of all the 
lands ceded to that state by the State of New York, except- 
ing such parts thereof as had been previously granted to the 
United States, and such parts thereof as then belonged to 
Nathaniel Gorham and Oliver Phelps, their heirs or as- 
signs, by virtue of any grant or confirmation of the Common- 
wealth of Massachusetts,* and reserving one equal undivi- 
ded sixtieth part of the unexcepted lands. t The committee 
was composed of Samuel Phillips, Nathaniel Wells, David 
Cobb, William Eustis, and Thomas Davis, who, in pursu- 
ance of the powers thus delegated to them, concluded, and, 
on the 12th of March, 1791, entered into, and executed a 
written contract of sale, in the form of an indenture, with 
Samuel Ogden, by which, on behalf of Massachusetts, they 
covenanted, upon the terms and conditions therein specified, 
to convey to him or his assigns all the estate and interest 
of that commonwealth in the lands referred to in the forego- 
ing resolution. 

In pursuance of this contract, the above-named commit- 
tee, by deed-poll dated 11th May, 1791, conveyed to Robert 
Morris, as the assignee under Samuel Ogden of the cove- 
nants contained in the deed of the 12th March, 1791, a tract 
of land containing about 500,000 acres, bounded westerly 
by a meridian line drawn from a point in the north line of 
Pennsylvania, distant twelve miles west from the southwest 
corner of the land confirmed to Nathaniel Gorham and Oli- 

* The first of these exceptions refers probably to the cession of the 
19th April, 1785, by which Massachusetts ceded to the United States 
all her claims to lands lying west of a meridian line to be drawn from 
lat. 45° N. through the most westerly bend of Lake Ontario. The 
second exception refers to a tract of land within the bounds of the ter- 
ritory ceded by New- York, which had been previously granted and con- 
firmed to Gorham and Phelps. 

t This reserved sixtieth part was afterward conveyed to Robert Mor- 
ris by the State of Massachusetts. This reservation, in the original 
sale to Morris, was caused by a contract made by Gorham and Phelps 
(prior to the surrender of their claims to Massachusetts) for the sale of 
one sixtieth of the entire territory to John Butler. Butler subsequently 
assigned his right to this one sixtieth to Robert Morris, who was thus 
enabled to acquire a title from Massachusetts. 



SUBDIVISIONS OP WESTERN NEW- YORK. 145 

ver Phelps, to the line in Lake Ontario which divides the 
dominions of Great Britain and the United States ; northerly 
by said dividing line ; easterly by land confirmed to Gor- 
ham and Phelps ; and southerly by the north line of Penn- 
sylvania. 

This tract forms no part of the land subsequently pur- 
chased of Robert Morris, for the benefit of the Holland Land 
Company ; but as its westerly bounds form the easterly 
bounds of those purchases, it is so far connected with the 
Company's title. 

The lands of the Holland Land Company are embraced 
in four deeds of conveyance executed to Robert Morris by 
the above-named committee, all dated 11th of May, 1791, 
each reciting the contract with Samuel Ogden, as contained 
in the instrument of the 12th March, 1791, together with his 
release of the covenants contained in that instrument, and 
his agreement that the lands therein described should be 
conveyed to Robert Morris, each reserving one undivided 
sixtieth part of the premises therein described, and severally 
conveying each a distinct tract of land supposed to contain 
800,000 acres. The following are the tracts so con- 
veyed : — 

1. The First Tract begins on the north line of the State 
of Pennsylvania, at a point distant twelve miles west from 
the southwest corner of land confirmed by the Common- 
wealth of Massachusetts to Nathaniel Gorham and Oliver 
Phelps ; thence running west, on the Pennsylvania line, six- 
teen miles ; thence north, on a meridian line, to the dividing 
line between the United States and the dominions of Great 
Britain ; thence easterly, on said dividing line, until it comes 
to a point from which a meridian line will fall upon the point 
of beginning ; and thence on the same meridian line to the 
place of beginning — consideration, £15,000. This tract 
comprehends Ranges I., II., and III., as laid down in the 
map of J. andB. Ellicott's survey of the Holland Purchase. 

2. The Second Tract begins on the north line of the State 
of Pennsylvania, at a point distant 28 miles west from the 
southwest corner of the land confirmed to Gorham and 
Phelps ; thence running west on the Pennsylvania line six- 
teen miles ; thence north to the boundary-line of the United 
States ; thence easterly along that line to a point whence a 
meridian line will fall on the point of beginning ; and thence 
south on that meridian to the place of beginning — consider- 

13 



146 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

ation £15,000. This tract comprehends Ranges IV., V., 
and VI., as laid down on Ellicott's map. 

3. The Third Tract begins on the north line of the State 
of Pennsylvania, at a point distant forty-four miles west 
from the southwest corner of the land confirmed to Gorham 
and Phelps ; thence running west on the Pennsylvania line 
sixteen miles ; thence north to the boundary-line of the 
United States ; thence easterly along that line to a point 
whence a meridian line will fall on the point of beginning ; 
thence south on that meridian to the place of beginning — 
consideration, £15,000. This tract comprehends Ranges 
VII. and VIII., and 263 chains and 76 links off the easterly- 
side of Range IX. of Ellicott's map. 

4. The Fourth Tract begins on the north line of the 
State of Pennsylvania, at a point distant sixty miles west 
from the southwest corner of the land confirmed to Gorham 
and Phelps ; thence running west until it meets the land ce- 
ded by Massachusetts to the United States, and by the United 
States sold to the State of Pennsylvania ;* thence northerly 
along the land so ceded to Lake Erie ; thence northeasterly 
along Lake Erie to a tract of land lying on the easterly side 
of the River or Strait of Niagara, belonging to the State of 
New- York ;f thence northerly along that tract to the bound- 
ary-line of the United States in Lake Ontario ; thence east- 
erly along that line to a point whence a meridian line will fall 
on the point of beginning — consideration, £10,000. This 
tract comprehends the remaining westerly part of Range 
IX., and the whole of Ranges X., XL, XII., XIII., XIV., 
and XV., of Ellicott's map. 

The undivided one sixtieth part of the above-described 
tracts, reserved by each of the four deeds of conveyance 
last mentioned, was granted to Robert Morris in fee-simple, 
by a concurrent resolution of the Legislature of Massachu- 
setts, passed on the 20th of June, 1792, and approved by 
the Governor, of which resolution an exemplification under 
the great seal of the Commonwealth was recorded in the 
Secretary's Office at Albany on the 10th November, 1792. 

These conveyances will be found to embrace all the ter- 
ritory within the State of New-York lying west of a merid- 
ian line commencing in the north bounds of Pennsylvania, 

* See notice of the Pennsylvania Triangle. 
t This was a strip a mile wide along the river. 



SUBDIVISIONS OP WESTERN NEW- YORK. 147 

?it a point distant twelve miles west from the southwest corner 
of Gorham and Phelps's purchase ; and thence extending 
north to the boundary-line of the United States in Lake On- 
tario, excepting only the reserved strip of land one mile in 
width along the Niagara River; and, with this exception, 
Robert Morris thus became seized of the pre-emptive title 
to the whole of this territory. 

The whole of the lands of the Dutch proprietors within 
the State of New- York were originally purchased for their 
account from Robert Morris, and conveyed for their benefit 
to trustees. On 11th April, 1796, a special act was passed 
for the relief of Wilhelm Willink, Nicholas Van Staphorst, 
Christian Van Eeghen, Hendrick Vollenhoven, and Rutger 
Jan Schimmelpenninck, which was succeeded by a supple- 
mentary act passed 24th February, 1797, including the 
names of Jan Willink, Jacob Van Staphorst, Nicholas Hub- 
bard, Pieter Van Eeghen, Isaac Ten Cate, Jan Stadnitski, 
and Arenout Van Beeftingh. By these two acts the trus- 
tees were authorized to hold the lands which had been con- 
tracted and paid for by all or any of the above-named indi- 
viduals, and for the period of seven years to sell the same 
to citizens of the United States — declarations describing the 
land so held being filed in the Secretary's Office by the 1st 
of July, 1797. Such declarations were made and filed ac- 
cordingly. Under the general alien act of the 2d of April, 
1798, the titles were afterward vested in the names of the 
Dutch proprietors by new conveyances, &c. By this gen- 
eral act, which was to continue for three years, all convey- 
ances to aliens, not being the subjects of powers or states 
at war with the United States, were declared to be valid, so 
as to vest the estate in such aliens, their heirs and assigns 
for ever. 

The construction of this act was settled by a declaratory 
act, passed 5th March, 1819, by which it is declared and 
enacted that all conveyances made to aliens under the act of 
2d April, 1798, should, as to any question or plea of alien- 
ism, be deemed valid and effectual to vest the lands thereby 
conveyed in the several grantees, so as to authorize them 
and their heirs and assigns, although aliens, to devise or 
convey the same to any other alien or aliens, not being the 
subjects of a power or state at war with the United States. 

Two judgments were recovered in the Supreme Court of 
the State of New- York against Robert Morris, which wer8 



148 SKETCHES OP ROCHESTER, ETC. 

found to overreach the titles of several of the purchasers 
under him. The first of these judgments was recovered by 
William Talbot and William Allum, and was docketed on 
the 8th June, 1797. The second judgment was recovered 
by Solomon Townsend, and was docketed on the 10th of 
August, 1798. 

Previously to the year 1800 an execution had been issued 
on the last judgment, in virtue of which all the lands con- 
veyed to Morris by the State of Massachusetts had been 
levied upon, sold, and conveyed by the sheriff of Ontario 
county to Thos. Mather, in whose name actions of eject- 
ment founded on this conveyance were prosecuted in the 
Supreme Court of the State of New-York. In the spring of 
the year 1800, and during the pendency of these ejectments, 
an execution was issued on the earlier judgment of Talbot 
and Allum, and the whole tract of country was again levied 
upon, and advertised for sale by the sheriff. 

Under these circumstances Mr. Busti, then general agent 
of the Holland Land Company, entered into an arrange- 
ment with Gouverneur Morris, the assignee of the earlier 
judgment, by which to put an end to the claims set up under 
both judgments, and also to the pretensions set up by Robert 
Morris, in relation to the right of redemption in the million 
and the half million acre tracts.* 

To effect these objects, it was agreed that both judgments, 
and also a release of Mather's interest, under the sheriff's 

* Concurrently with the execution of the original conveyance for 
these two tracts of land by Robert Morris to Le Roy and Lincklaen, ar- 
ticles of agreement were entered into, by which, among other things, a 
right was reserved to the grantees to elect, within a certain period, to 
convert the purchase into a loan, in which case the conveyance was to 
enure by way of mortgage to secure the repayment of the purchase- 
money. The grantees choosing to hold the lands as a purchase de- 
clared no election to hold them otherwise ; but it was nevertheless 
contended by Morris, and those claiming under him, that the whole 
transaction was to be considered as a loan, and that a right of redemp- 
tion still existed in Morris or his assigns, which a Court of Chancery 
would enforce. This question was put at rest by the conveyance of 
10th February, 1801, from T. L. Ogden and Gouverneur Morris, in the 
latter of whom were then vested all the rights which Robert Morris 
had in these lands on the 8th June, 1797, or at any time subsequent. 
This conveyance served also as a confirmation of title under the treaty 
with the Seneca Indians of 15th September, 1797, which confirmation 
had been withheld as to this tract, although given with regard to the 
" million-acre" and the " 800,000-acre tracts." 



SUBDIVISIONS OF WESTERN NEW- YORK. 149 

deed to him, should be purchased by the Holland Land Com- 
pany, which was done. The two judgments were accord- 
ingly assigned to the individuals composing the company : 
that of Townsend by his attorney, Aaron Burr, by deed of 
assignment, dated 22d April, 1800 ; that of Talbot and Al- 
lum by Gouverneur Morris, the assignee, by deed of assign- 
ment of the same date. 

Founded on these preliminary acts, articles of agreement 
were entered into between Thomas L. Ogden of the first 
part, Wilhelm Willink, Nicolaas Van Staphorst, Pieter Van 
Eeghen, Hendrick Vollenhoven, and Rutger Jan Schimmel- 
penninck of the second part, and Gouverneur Morris of the 
third part, also dated the 22d of April, 1800, by which, after 
reciting the above assignments and the purchase of Mather's 
interest, it was mutually agreed that the release from Mather 
should be taken in the name of Thomas L. Ogden ; that he 
should also become the purchaser at the approaching sale 
under the judgment of Talbot and Allum ; and that the title, 
thus derived under both judgments, should be held by him 
upon trust for the purposes expressed in the agreement. 

Among the trusts declared by that instrument, it was pro- 
vided that the million and the half million acre tracts, com- 
posing together what is now called the million and a half acre 
tract, should be held subject to the issue of an amicable suit, 
to be instituted on the equity side of the Circuit Court of the 
United States for the District of New- York, to determine the 
operation and effect of the conveyance of those tracts by 
Robert Morris ; so that, if by the decree of that court, or of 
the Supreme Court of the United States, in case of an ap- 
peal from the decision of the Circuit Court, such conveyance 
should be adjudged to be absolute and indefeasible, then the 
two tracts should be released and confirmed by Gouverneur 
Morris to the Holland Land Company ; but if adjudged to 
be a mortgage, then that they should be released by them to 
him upon payment of the original purchase-money and in- 
terest. It was further provided by this agreement, that the 
residue of the entire tract of country should be released and 
confirmed by T. L. Ogden to the several proprietors under 
Robert Morris, according to the award and appointment of 
Alexander Hamilton, David A. Ogden, and Thomas Cooper. 

In pursuance of this agreement, Mather's rights under the 
sale upon Townsend's judgment were conveyed to Thos. L. 
Ogden, by deed dated 22d April, 1800 ; and a sale having 

13* 



150 SKETCHES OP ROCHESTER, ETC. 

been made under the executidn issued upon the judgment of 
Talbot and Allum, the entire tract of country, as to all the 
estate and interest therein which Robert Morris was entitled 
to on the 8th June, 1797, was conveyed by Roger Sprague, 
sheriff of Ontario county, to Thomas L. Ogden, by deed 
dated 13th May, 1800. 

Alexander Hamilton, David A. Ogden, and Thomas Cooper 
made an award or appointment, dated 22d January, 1801, 
directing conveyances by Thomas L. Ogden of the whole of 
the lands to and among the several grantees under Robert 
Morris, the parcels to be conveyed to each being defined 
by appropriate descriptions and boundaries. 

In conformity with this appointment, the several confir- 
mations respecting the " million-acre," " 800,000-acre," and 
" 300,000-acre tracts" were executed by T. L. Ogden on 
the 13th and 27th February, 1801. 

It was required by the award that each of the grantees 
under Morris, receiving a release from Thos. L. Ogden, 
should execute to him a release or quit-claim of all the resi- 
due of the tract of country, which releases were accordingly 
executed. 



THE PULTENEY ESTATE. 

The great size and present immense value of this tract 
may render some particulars respecting it satisfactory to 
those who are desirous of tracing the progress of Western 
New- York. It would, indeed, be almost unpardonable, in 
these notices of settlement, to pass silently by the enterpri- 
sing Charles Williamson, the early agent of that estate, 
whose exertions contributed so essentially to stimulate the 
progress of improvement in this then wilderness. It was 
from the Pulteney Estate that Rochester, Fitzhugh, and 
Carroll bought the " hundred-acre lot" which formed the nu- 
cleus of the City of Rochester. 

After selling out about one third of the tract to which the 
Indian title had been extinguished by them, Phelps and 
Gorham, in November, 1790, sold nearly all the residue of 
that tract to Robert Morris. The quantity was about 
1,264,000 acres, and the price eightpence per acre. Mr. 
Morris sold his bargain to Sir William Pulteney, and Charles 
Williamson was appointed the agent to manage the sales 



SUBDIVISIONS OP WESTERN NEW-YORK. 151 

to the settlers, for whose accommodation land-offices were 
opened at Geneva and Bath. [The portion of territory to 
which Phelps and Gorham had not extinguished the Indian 
title was relinquished by them to Massachusetts, and after- 
ward passed through the hands of Robert Morris to the Hol- 
land Company, as stated particularly elsewhere in this 
volume.] 

The boundaries of the Pulteney Estate, as given by Spaf- 
ford's Gazetteer, were thus : Northward by Lake Ontario ; 
eastward by the Pre-emption Line ; south by the State of 
Pennsylvania ; west by a transit meridian line due north from 
lat. 42° to the Genesee River at the junction of the Cana- 
seraga Creek and Genesee River ; thence by that river to the 
south line of Caledonia"; thence west twelve miles, and thence 
northeasterly by the east line of * the Triangle" twelve miles 
west of the Genesee River, to Lake Ontario. It comprises 
nearly all of Steuben and Ontario counties, the east range of 
townships in Allegany county, and the east and principal 
parts of the counties of Livingston and Monroe. Some por- 
tions of the territory included within these bounds, to the ex- 
tent, probably, of one third of the whole tract, had been sold 
to companies and individuals before the purchase made by 
Sir William Pulteney ; and that purchase was of course 
made subject to all the previous contracts. 

Some of the memoranda furnished by Mr. Maude in 1800 
respecting Captain Williamson's operations as agent of the 
Pulteney Estate, may be quoted here as illustrative not 
merely of the character of his agency, but of the history of 
our early settlements. 

" Bath, which now contains about forty families," says 
the traveller, " was laid out in 1792, the same year that 
Captain Williamson forced a passage to this till then un- 
known country, through a length of wilderness which the 
oldest and most experienced woodmen could not be tempted 
to assist him to explore ; tempted, too, by an offer of more 
than five times the amount of their usual wages. Captain 
W. was then accompanied by his friend and relative, Mr. 
Johnstone, and a servant — afterward a backwoodsman was 
prevailed on to join the party. 

" It was not till 1795 that this country could supply its 
inhabitants with food ; for, till then, their flour was brought 
from Northumberland and their pork from Philadelphia ; 
yet, so rapidly has the spirit of improvement gone forth in 



152 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

this country, so suddenly has plenty burst forth where so 
late was famine, and so quick the change of scene from 
dark-tangled forests (whose deathlike silence yielded but to 
the growl of bears, the howl of wolves, and the yell of sav- 
ages) to smiling fields, to flocks and herds, and to the busy 
hum of men, that, instead of being indebted to others for 
their support, they will henceforth annually supply the low 
country, Baltimore especially, with many hundred barrels of 
flour and heads of cattle. 

" On Captain Williamson's first arrival, where now is 
Bath, he built a small log hut for his wife and family. If a 
stranger came to visit him, he built up a little nook for him 
to put his bed in. In a little time, a boarded or frame house 
was built to the left of the hut ; this also was intended but 
as a temporary residence, though it then appeared a palace. 
His present residence, a very commodious, roomy, and well- 
planned house, is situate to the right of where stood the hut, 
long consigned to the kitchen fire. * * * 

" Bath is situated in a small valley, watered by the Con- 
hocton, running at the foot of a mountainous ridge which 
shuts in the valley to the south : this ridge is high and steep, 
and clothed with wood to its summit. Bath is the capital of 
Steuben county, which county contains at present (in 1800) 
about 300 families. 

" On the first settlement of the country, these mountainous 
districts were thought so unfavourably of when compared 
with the rich flats of Ontario county (or the Genesee coun- 
try), that none of the settlers could be prevailed upon to es- 
tablish themselves here till Captain Williamson himself set 
the example, saying, 'As Nature has done so much for the 
Northern plains, I will do something for these Southern 
mountains ;' though the truth of the case was, that Captain 
W. saw very clearly, on his first visit to the country, that the 
Susquehannah, and not the Mohawk, would be ultimately 
its best friend. Even now it has proved so ; for at this day 
(1800) a bushel of wheat is better worth one hundred cents 
at Bath than sixty cents at Geneva. This difference will 
grow wider every year ;* for little, if any, additional improve- 
ment can be made in the water communication with New- 
York, while that to Baltimore will admit of very extensive 

'* * What an amusing contrast is presented between these predictions 
and the present actual condition of things ! 



SUBDIVISIONS OF WESTERN NEW- YORK. 153 

and advantageous ones. Its present efforts are those of a 
child compared with the manly strength it will soon assume. 

" I visited Captain Williamson's mills, a little west of 
Bath, on Conhocton Creek, which, before the winter sets in, 
will be made navigable fifteen miles higher up ; at least a 
farmer there promises to exert himself to send an ark down 
from thence in the spring. Should he succeed, Captain W. 
promises him a gift of thirty acres of land. The naviga- 
tion of the Susquehannah will then extend to within six 
miles of Canandaigua Lake. 

" Geneva is situate at the northwest extremity of Seneca 
Lake. It is divided into Upper and Lower Town. The 
first establishments were on the margin of the lake, as best 
adapted to business ; but Captain Williamson, struck with the 
peculiar beauty of the elevated plain which crowns the high 
bank of the lake, and the many advantages which it pos- 
sessed as a site for a town, began here to lay out his build- 
ing-lots parallel with and facing the lake. These lots are 
three quarters of an acre deep, and half an acre in front, 
and valued (in 1800) at $375 per lot. One article in the 
agreement with Captain Williamson is, that no buildings 
shall be erected on the east side of the street, that the view 
of the lake may be kept open. Those who purchase a lot 
have also the option of purchasing such land as lays be- 
tween their lot and the lake — a convenience and advantage 
which I suppose few will forego — the quantity not being 
great, and consisting principally of the declivity of the bank, 
which, for the most part, is not so steep as to unfit it for 
pasturage or gardens. 

" To give encouragement to this settlement, Captain Wil- 
liamson built a very large and handsome hotel, and invited 
an Englishman of the name of Powell to take the superin- 
tendence of it. Captain Williamson has two rooms in this 
hotel appropriated to himself; and as he resides here the 
greater part of the year, he takes care that Powell does jus- 
tice to the establishment and to his guests. From this 
cause it is, that, as it respects provisions, liquors, beds, and 
stabling, there are few inns in America equal to the hotel 
at Geneva. That part of the town where the hotel is situ- 
ated is intended for a public square. At Mile-Point, a mile 
south of the hotel, Captain Williamson has built a handsome 
brick house, intended for the residence of his brother, who 
had an intention of establishing at Geneva, 



154 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

" In 1792, Geneva did not>contain more than three or four 
families ; but such is the beauty, salubrity, and convenience 
of the situation, that it now consists of at least sixty fami- 
lies, and is rapidly receiving accessions as the new build- 
ings* get finished for their reception. There were at this 
time' (1800) settled at Geneva, Mr. and Mrs. Colt, Messrs. 
Johnstone, Hallet, Rees, Bogart, and Beekman ; three of 
these gentlemen were lawyers. Here were also two doc- 
tors, two storekeepers, a blacksmith, shoemaker, tailor, hat- 
ter, hairdresser, saddler, brewer, printer, watchmaker, and 
cabinet-maker. A hat made entirely of beaver is sold here 
for $10. 

" " Geneva is supplied with water conveyed in pipes from a 
neighbouring spring, and also by wells. From the lake, the 
town is plentifully supplied with a great variety of excellent 
fish. Seneca Lake is forty-four miles long, and from four 
to six miles wide. Its greatest depth is not known ; the 
water is very clear and wholesome ; the bottom is sand 
and gravel, with a clear sandy beach, like the seashore, 
and, consequently, not infested with moschetoes, &c. This 
lake is navigated by a sloop of forty tons, which runs as a 
packet, and carries on a trade between Geneva and Cath- 
erinetown, at the head of the lake. 

"Canandaigua, in 1792, was not farther advanced in im- 
provement than Geneva, as it then consisted of only two 
frame houses and a few log houses. It is now (1800) one 
third larger than Geneva — containing ninety families, and is 
the county town. Canandaigua is built at right angles with 
the lake, and, consequently, has not a commanding view of it. 
Strangers will always regret this circumstance ; for, though 
Canandaigua Lake is not half the size of Seneca Lake, yet 
its scenery is far more attractive, and its banks would have 
afforded a situation very superior to that of Geneva. Those, 
however, who laid out the town of Canandaigua looked for 
more substantial gratifications than that of merely pleasing 
the eye. 

M Canandaigua consists of one street ; from this street are 
laid off sixty lots, thirty on each side. Each lot contains 
forty acres, having only twenty-two perches, or one hundred 
and twenty-one yards in front : thirty lots consequently ex- 
tends the town upward of two miles ; but the extremities 
of the present town are not more than a mile and a half 
apart. These lots are valued in their unimproved state at 



SUBDIVISIONS OF WESTERN NEW- YORK. 155 

$600 to $1000 each. The land is very good ; two tons 
and a half of hay has been made to the acre. 

" The principal inhabitants of Canandagua are, Thomas 
Morris, Esq., Mr. Phelps, Mr. Gorham (who are the 
greatest land-owners in Canandaigua and its neighbourhood), 
and Judge Atwater. I was introduced also to Mr. Greig, 
from Morpeth, in England — a gentleman reading law with 
Mr. Morris. 

11 Canandaigua Lake is eighteen miles long, and from one 
to one and a half in breadth. The water near the outlet is 
very shallow, but of very great depth near the head of the 
lake. The new outlet (an artificial one being cut at the 
northwest corner — the natural outlet being, as in Seneca 
Lake, at the northeast corner) has shoaled the water so 
much, that near that end of the lake a considerable sand-bar 
has appeared above its surface. The shores are low the 
first six miles — the lake is then imbosomed in high cliffs 
and mountains. The bottom is sand and gravel." 

Captain Williamson, as agent of the Pulteney Estate, pur- 
chased the Allen mill-lot, or hundred-acre tract, which formed 
the nucleus of the City of Rochester. " Capt. W., perceiv- 
ing the value of this property, proposed to build a new and 
much larger mill" about the year 1800 ; but, in 1802, sold 
the tract to Rochester, Carroll, and Fitzhugh, who in 1812 
laid it out into a village-plot under the name of the senior 
proprietor. At the Big Spring, within two miles of the 
Scotch settlement at Caledonia, Capt. Williamson laid out a 
town in acre lots ; but only two families were resident 
at the spring in 1800, while at Caledonia there were 
twelve families, and six other families in the immediate 
neighbourhood. " These settlers purchased their land of 
Capt. W. for $3 per acre. He gave each family a cow, and 
supplied them with wheat for the first year, to be repaid in 
kind. He was also not to charge any interest for the first 
five years. The Big Spring spreads over two acres, on a 
limestone bed ; the pond never freezes, and its outlet has 
force of water sufficient to turn two or more large water- 
wheels. The stream from this spring falls into Allen's 
Creek, on which Caledonia is situated" — [on which creek 
also stands the flourishing village of Scottsville.] 



156 SKETCHES OP ROCHESTER, ETC. 



THE MILITARY TRACT. 

1781. Among the acts of the New- York Legislature in 
sustenance of the revolutionary war, was a resolution for 
raising forces to recruit the army in 1781 — the period of en- 
listment fixed at three years, or till the close of the war — 
and the faith of the state pledged that each soldier should 
have 500 acres as soon after the war as the land could be 
safely surveyed. 

1782. A law setting apart lands for the payment of mili- 
tary bounties was adopted by the New- York Legislature on 
the 25th of July, 1782. The preamble of the law set forth 
that, " as Congress had promised that lands should, at the 
close of the revolution, be given to the officers and soldiers, 
the Legislature were inclined to carry out the wishes and 
promises of Congress so far as the New-York soldiery were 
concerned." With these views the law decreed that the 
territory within the following boundaries should be devoted 
to the location of grants made to the New- York troops in 
the service of the United States, and to such other persons for 
military service as the Legislature might designate. The 
tract included all the lands in Tryon county (which then 
embraced all the state west of Albany county), bounded 
northward by Lake Ontario, Onondaga [now Oswego] River, 
and Oneida Lake ; west by a line drawn from the mouth of 
the Great Sodus or Assodorus Bay through the most west- 
erly inclination of Seneca Lake [this was the Pre-emption 
Line, or east boundary of the Massachusetts lands] ; south 
by an east and west line drawn through the most southerly 
inclination of Seneca Lake ; and on the east by a line 
drawn from the most westerly boundary of the Oneida or 
Tuscarora country on the Oneida Lake, through the most 
westerly inclination of the west bounds of the Oneida or 
Tuscarora country. This act was amended in some of 
its provisions, sess. 9, sess. 11, sess. 12, sess. 14. By the 
act of February 28, 1789, sess. 12, six lots were reserved 
in each township, viz., one for promoting the Gospel and a 
public school, another for promoting literature in this state, 
and the remaining four lots to satisfy the surplus share of com- 
missioned officers not corresponding with the division of 600 
acres, and to compensate such persons as should by chance 
draw lots, the greater part of which should be covered with 
water. 



SUBDIVISIONS OF WESTERN NEW- YORK. 157 

The execution of this law depended upon contingencies 
which caused considerable delay ; for the Indian title to the 
tract was then unextinguished by any treaty, no lands (save 
a tract between Unadilla and Chenango Rivers, &c.) having 
been acquired from the Indians by the state till 1788-9, 
when the Oneidas, Cayugas, and Onondagas sold their ter- 
ritories, which extended to the west bounds of the tract set 
apart for military bounty-lands — the land westward of which 
belonged to Massachusetts and the Senecas, and to those 
who, like Phelps and Gorham, purchased the respective 
rights of that state and of the Seneca tribe, of which particu- 
lars are elsewhere given under appropriate heads. 

1786. The preamble of a law of the 5th May, 1786, set 
forth that, as the settlement of the unappropriated lands in 
the state, in the manner directed by former laws, was sub- 
ject to great embarrassment and inconvenience, and produc- 
tive of much controversy — expediency demanded a speedy 
disposal of the tracts owned by the state. One of the pro- 
visions of this law was to this effect : that, as sundry loca- 
tions of military bounty-lands had been made on lands of the 
Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca nations, and as attempts to 
settle such lands might involve the state in controversy with 
those Indians, patentees were authorized to withdraw their 
locations, and to locate on lands which might be prepared 
(but before they should be offered) for sale under this act, 
excepting on lands bought from the Oneida Indians, and ex- 
cepting also the tract between Chenango and Unadilla Rivers, 
bought on the 28th of June, 1785, and also excepting va- 
cant lands in the southern district. 

1786. As there seemed to be little prospect of soon ex- 
tinguishing the Indian title to the tract in Western New- 
York, originally designated for the payment of military 
bounties, the Legislature appropriated twelve northern town- 
ships (now in the counties of Clinton, Franklin, and Essex) 
to satisfy the claims of such of the patentees as were becom- 
ing impatient for locations. These twelve townships were 
each ten miles square — making an area of 1200 square 
miles, or 768,000 acres. The land thus allotted is some- 
times called the " Old Military Tract;" but, as the Indian 
title to the other tract was soon after (in 1789) extinguished 
by the state, the grants to the revolutionary soldiers were 
chiefly located on the lands of the Onondagas and Cayugas. 

1789. On the 28th of February, 1789, an act was passed 
14 



158 SKETCHES OP ROCHESTER, ETC. 

for appropriating the lands* devoted to the payment of the 
revolutionary soldiers, the Indian title to which lands had at 
length been extinguished by treaties with the Onondagas 
and Cayugas. The State of New-York thus redeemed the 
pledge given to the revolutionary soldiers by the act of the 
25th of July, 1782. The terms of the arrangements with 
the Indians are stated elsewhere in this volume. 

The Military Tract was accordingly surveyed into 
twenty-eight townships, each township embracing 100 lots 
of 600 acres, exclusive of reservations — an area of land 
equal to 1,680,000 acres — which tract was, 

On the 5th of March, 1794, erected into a separate county 
called Onondaga — the county courts were ordered to be held 
alternately at Manlius and in Scipio (the latter place being 
in what is now Cayuga county), and the prisoners to be 
kept in Herkimer jail till otherwise ordered. 

This Military Tract, or old Onondaga county, has been 
subdivided into several counties, viz. : Courtland, Tompkins, 
Cayuga, and Seneca, and partly into Oswego and Wayne. 

This great tract embraces the Cayuga, Onondaga, Skan- 
eateles, Owasco, Otisco, and Cross Lakes, and several 
smaller lakes or ponds, part of Seneca Lake, the whole 
length of Seneca River, part of the lakes and streams on its 
boundaries, and many small streams of great value — as are 
its soil, products, and the singular opulence of its miner- 
alogy — salt, gypsum, marl, lime, water-lime, iron ore, <fec. 

Although the " Military Tract" may be truly considered 
as " a proud and splendid monument of the gratitude of New- 
York to her revolutionary heroes," the soldiers whose patri- 
otic valour earned the reward, in many cases realized little 
from the bounty of their country. Some of those who know 
the present value of 600 acres of Onondaga lands, may be 
surprised and grieved to learn that the patents for that quan- 
tity were frequently sold at rates varying from $8 to $30 
each for about ten years after the revolutionary war ! 

Some of the statements of Maude, a traveller from whose 
work various quotations are made in this volume, may be 
noticed here as illustrative of the subject of the foregoing re- 
marks : — 

"I had now (in the year 1800) entered upon the Military 
Townships, which the State of New- York had granted to 
the officers and soldiers who had served in their line during 
the war. Each soldier had a patent made out for 600 acres. 



SUBDIVISIONS OP WESTERN NEW- YORK. 159 

These patents were soon bought up by greedy speculators, 
who very rarely gave more than eight dollars, or half a joe, 
for each patent of six hundred acres, now (1800) selling at 
from three to six dollars per acre ! 'Tis true [some of] the 
soldiers sold their patents many times over — perhaps once a 
week.* 

" Congress, by an act of the 16th of September, 1776, re- 
solved that a bounty of land should be given to the Conti- 
nental Army, viz. : 

Acres. 

Private and non-commissioned officer, . 100 

An Ensign, 150 

Lieutenant, ..... 200 

Captain, 300 

Major, 400 

Lieutenant-colonel, .... 450 

Colonel, 500 

*' And by an act of the 12th of August, 1780 — 
Brigadier-general, .... 850 

Major-general, 1100 

" The State of New-York, undertaking to provide for her 
own citizens serving in the army of the United States, passed 
an act on the 27th of March, 1783, which granted to them a 
quantity of land fivefold in addition to the grant of Congress 
— making their proportion as follows : — 



Private and non-commissioned officer, 


Acres. 

600 


An Ensign, 
Lieutenant, 


• 




• 


900 
. 1200 


Captain, 

Major, 

Lieutenant-colonel, 


• 




• 


. 1800 
. 2400 
. 2700 


Colonel, 


# 




. 


. 3000 


Brigadier-general, 
Major-general, 


• 




• 


. 5100 
. 6600 


" In 1788, the current 


price 


for 


a soldier's right was eight 


dollars : in 1792, they 


had risen 


to thirty 


; and they are 



* These irregularities occasioned great difficulties in the early settle- 
ment of the country ; and so great was the evil, that a board of com- 
missioners existed for several years for the purpose of arbitration be- 
tween contending claimants. Gen. Vincent Mathews, then of Tioga, 
but now a resident of Rochester, was a member of the board intrusted 
with this delicate authority. 



160 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

now, in 1800, even those in* a wild unimproved state, worth 
from three to five dollars per acre." 



THE TRIANGLE TRACT. 

The history of this tract is intimately connected with that 
of the Millyard Tract — the twelve by twenty-four miles 
originally granted by the Indians for the convenience of a 
mill at Genesee Falls ; next westward of which " millyard" 
the Triangle Tract is located. It was agreed between 
Phelps and Gorham and the Indians, that the " millyard" 
should be bounded eastwardly by the Genesee River, south 
by a line running from a point on the river about Avon Avest 
twelve miles, and thence the western boundary should run 
northwardly to the Lake Ontario, which was the northern 
boundary. It was then supposed by some that the general 
course of the Genesee River from Avon was west of north ; 
and some misunderstanding appears to have temporarily ex- 
isted between Phelps and the Indians as to the running of 
the western boundary ; whether it should run parallel with 
the general course of the river (and twelve miles distant 
therefrom), or due north from the southwesterly point of be- 
ginning twelve miles west of Avon. The western line was 
run by Hugh Maxwell due north from the last-mentioned 
point. But, as the river enters Ontario east of north from 
Avon, the northern termination of Maxwell's line was more 
than twelve miles from the river at its junction with the lake. 
The matter was soon afterward arranged by a survey 
which was made by the venerable Augustus Porter (who is 
still living at Niagara Falls), and who ran the west line con- 
formably to the northeasterly course of the river from Avon, 
said line being as nearly as practicable twelve miles west of 
the general course of the stream in that distance. Thus 
was created what is called the Triangle Tract (the base 
resting on Lake Ontario), between the new and the old 
west lines of the "millyard" — said triangle containing 
about 87,000 acres, and forming the towns of Clarkson and 
Sweden in Monroe county, and parts of Bergen and Le Roy 
in Genesee county. Robert Morris, who bought from 
Massachusetts certain lands relinquished by Phelps and 
Gorham, sold this " Triangle Tract" to Le Roy, Bayardj 
and M'Evers. 



SUBDIVISIONS OF WESTERN NEW-YORK. 161 

Before this west line was rectified as it now stands, Rob- 
ert Morris sold the tract next west of it, known as 

The 100,000-acre Tract {now partly called the Connecticut 
Tract) 

To Andrew Craigie, James Watson, and James Greenleaf, 
for $37,500 ; Craigie having one half and Watson and 
Greenleaf each one quarter. Watson sold his interest to 
Greenleaf ; Greenleaf sold " an equal undivided half of the 
100,000 tract" to Oliver Phelps in 1794 ; Phelps sold his 
"two equal undivided fourth parts of the 100,000 tract" to 
Dewitt Clinton in 1795, taking mortgages upon the land for 
a part of the purchase-money due from Mr. Clinton. The 
lands reverted from Mr. Clinton to Mr. Phelps by a sale 
made under the mortgages from the former to the latter ; were 
afterward (in 1801) sold to Dudley Saltonstall, and immedi- 
ately afterward released by said Saltonstall to Mr. Phelps. 
In April, 1801, Mr. Phelps sold an " undivided half of the 
100,000-acre tract" to the State of Connecticut — considera- 
tion, $125,000 — being an investment of part of the school- 
fund of that state. 

The other half of the 100,000-acre tract, that originally 
bought by Craigie from Robert Morris, was sold by Craigie 
to Charles Williamson and Thomas Morris in 1796 ; Morris 
in 1800 released his interest to Williamson, and the latter 
in 1801 deeded "an equal undivided half of the 100,000- 
acre tract" to Sir William Pulteney ; from Sir William the 
title descended to his only child, the Countess of Bath ; from 
her to Sir John Lowther Johnstone, her heir ; and a release 
from Sir John to the State of Connecticut was executed (by 
Robert Troup, his attorney, for a nominal consideration) " to 
carry into effect a division of the 100,000-acre tract among 
the parties or tenants in common," &c. The division was 
accordingly consummated between the Pulteney Estate and 
the State of Connecticut in 1811. 

Thus much for the early arrangements of important minor 
tracts (minor as compared with the Holland Purchase or 
Pulteney Estate) westward of the celebrated " Millyard" 
wherein the City of Rochester has sprung into existence. 
14* 



162 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

BOUNDARIES ALLUDED TO. 

Property Line — Pre-emption Line — Pennsylvania Line. 

As these terms are occasionally used in this work, some 
explanation of them may be proper. 

1768. The " Property Line" was drawn by an agree- 
ment between Sir Wm. Johnson and the Six Nations in 1768 
— to prevent collisions between the white and red men on the 
score of boundary in this (then) colony. The treaty for 
this purpose was seen by De Witt Clinton in possession of 
his uncle George Clinton, but we have not been able to as- 
certain, even from the records in the State Department at 
Albany, the particular provisions of that instrument. A 
note from O. L. Holley, the present surveyor-general, fur* 
nishes us with the following information concerning the line 
which thus bounded the possessions of the colonists of 
New-York from the territories of their Indian dependants 
westward : — 

"On a map (No. 51) in this office, of the easternmost 
range of lots in the old township of Clinton, now part of the 
town of Bainbridge in Chenango county, the line about 
which you inquire, and which is the eastern boundary of the 
lots referred to, is laid down as running ' North 4° 47' 
east? The map was made by John Cox, in November, 
1787, from actual survey. The northern end of the Prop- 
erty Line is at the confluence of the Unadilla River with 
the Susquehannah." Our impression was that the line con- 
tinued in the same direction northward to and beyond the 
Mohawk, &c. 

1790-1801. The Pre-emption Lines — for there are two 
of that name — originated thus : Although the dispute be- 
tween Massachusetts and New-York respecting territory had 
been amicably arranged in 1787 by an agreement which 
bestowed on Massachusetts the pre-emptive right to the soil 
of the territory of New- York westward of a north and south 
line running through Seneca Lake (the right of jurisdiction 
being conceded to New- York), the easterly line of this pre- 
emptive tract was not run till after Massachusetts had sold 
her claim to Phelps and Gorham. It was then agreed be- 
tween Phelps and Gorham (or those who bought the tract 
from them), and " the Lessees" who claimed the lands of the 
Six Nations by virtue of extraordinary leases for 999 years 



SUBDIVISIONS OF WESTERN NEW- YORK. 163 

(of which an account is given under the caption of " A New 
State Projected"), that the survey should be made by two 
surveyors — Hugh Maxwell on the part of the first-mentioned 
party, and a Mr. Jenkins in behalf of the Lessees. 

These surveyors started from a point on the Pennsylvania 
Line, and proceeded together till the provisions were nearly 
exhausted. When within about twenty miles from Geneva, 
and a few miles below what was called Hopetown (near to 
the creek by which the Seneca Lake receives the waters of 
Crooked Lake), one of the surveyors (Maxwell) went to 
Geneva for supplies — Jenkins meanwhile continued running 
the line ; and it was while he was thus alone that a slight 
jog occurred in the line, the prolongation of which north- 
ward threw Geneva (the settlements at which had already 
attracted some attention) on the east side of the boundary — 
that side whereon it was most agreeable to the interests of 
Jenkins's employers that it should continue. Maxwell re- 
turned with provisions and resumed the survey when with- 
in about ten miles of Geneva ; and, unconscious of the devi- 
ation which occurred in his absence, he aided in running the 
boundary so that it passed somewhat westward of Geneva. 
The present site of the village of Lyons and the whole of 
Sodus Bay were also thrown eastward of the line thus run 
out. The variation of the compass was, however, the 
cause of a far greater error in running this line than resulted 
from the covetousness of possessing Geneva, &c. One of the 
surveyors of the Holland Company informed Maude in 1800 
that they "put no dependance now on the Mariners' Com- 
pass in surveying land — that it will frequently give an error 
of sixty rods, or three hundred and thirty yards in ten miles — 
that it gave an error of 84,000 acres in running the east line 
of Captain Williamson's Purchase [or rather the Pulteney 
Estate, for which W. was agent — the land sold by Phelps 
and Gorham to Robert Morris, and by him to Sir William 
Pulteney], which was not discovered till after the deeds 
were signed and the money paid." It is added that " the 
difference was, however, generously yielded up by Mr. 
Morris to Captain Williamson [for the Pulteney Estate], who 
otherwise would not only have lost this quantity of land, 
but would have been cut off from Sodus Bay, Seneca Lake, 
[with Geneva], and the excellent situation of Hopetown 
Mills on the outlet of the Crooked Lake," a little eastward 
of what is now called Pen-Yan. 



164 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

The State of New- York shaving compelled " the Lessees" 
to abandon their claims (of which some particulars are 
already given), disposed of some portions of land about 
Geneva and elsewhere, which were found, on the running 
of the new and correct pre-emption line in 1801, to be within 
the limits originally assigned by compromise to Massachu- 
setts, whose right had passed through Phelps and Gorham 
and Robert Morris, into the possession of Capt. Williamson, 
agent of the Pulteney Estate, of which estate the land in 
question has since formed a part. 

Some of these particulars were communicated to us by 
Augustus Porter, Esq., of Niagara Falls, one of the ear- 
liest pioneers of Western New- York, who assisted in run- 
ning the new pre-emption line in company with Joseph Elli- 
cott, the first agent of the Holland Land Company. 

1786. As frequent reference is made to the milestones on 
the Pennsylvania Line, it may be well to state that the 
first ninety miles of the boundary had been marked in Octo- 
ber, 1786, by agreement between James Clinton and Simeon 
Dewitt in behalf of New-York, and Andrew Ellicott on be- 
half of Pennsylvania. The agreement states that, for the 
purpose of running and marking a jurisdiction line between 
the said states, to begin at the River Delaware, in 42° north 
latitude, and to continue in the same parallel of forty-two 
degrees to the western extremity of the said states, the com- 
missioners finished ninety miles of the said boundary-line, 
extending from the River Delaware to the western side of 
the south branch of the Tioga River, and marked the same 
with substantial milestones. 

In 1787 it was agreed between commissioners in behalf 
of the States of New- York and Pennsylvania, that the "ju- 
risdiction-line" between those states in the parallel of forty- 
two degrees north latitude, beginning at the River Delaware 
and extending to a meridian line drawn from the southwest 
corner of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, should be 
extended from the 90th milestone to Lake Erie, and marked 
in a permanent manner by milestones, or posts surrounded 
by mounds of earth where stones could not be procured. 
The stones at the several points where the latitude was de- 
termined are large and well marked, and contain on the south 
side " Pennsylvania — latitude 42° north, 1787 ;" also, the 
variation of the magnetic needle ; on the north side, " New- 



SUBDIVISIONS OF WESTERN NEW- YORK. 165 

York," and their several distances from the Delaware River. 
The agreement is dated 29th October, 1787, and signed by 
Abraham Hardenbergh and William W. Morris, commis- 
sioners from New-York, and Andrew Ellicott and Andrew 
Porter, commissioners from Pennsylvania. 



WESTERN NEW-YORK, AS IT WAS AND IS. 

In connexion with the foregoing statements respecting the 
acquisition of the lands of Western New-York from the In- 
dians, and the division of those lands into several large tracts, 
it may be well to trace the progress of improvement, as in- 
dicated by the erection of counties. 

Seventy years ago the County of Albany embraced all 
the territory of New- York lying north of Ulster and west of 
the Hudson River, as well as all northward of Dutchess on 
the east side of the Hudson. There were then ten counties 
in the province, viz., New- York, Westchester, Dutchess, 
Orange, Ulster, Albany, Richmond, King's, Queen's, and 
Suffolk. 

Charlotte county was taken from Albany in 1772, and the 
name changed in 1784 to Washington, which it now bears. 
A part of this county was included with Cumberland and 
Gloucester counties in forming the State of Vermont, as 
finally concurred in by this state in 1790. 

Tryon county, taken from Albany in 1772, and named 
after one of the British governors, included all the province 
west of a line running nearly through the centre of the pres- 
ent county of Schoharie. There was a change of name 
from Tryon to Montgomery in 1784, in honour of the gal- 
lant soldier who fell at Quebec. Montgomery had then five 
divisions or districts, called Mohawk, Canajoharie, Palatine, 
German Flats, and Kingsland, the two latter covering most 
of the western settlements. 

Ontario was taken from Montgomery in 1789, and inclu- 
ded all the land of which the pre-emptive right had been 
ceded to the State of Massachusetts, which that .state after- 
ward sold to Phelps and Gorham, and which afterward 
chiefly passed into the possession of the Holland Land 
Company and the Pulteney Estate. Ontario county then 
extended from the Pre-emption Line a mile eastward of 



166 SKETCHES OP ROCHESTER, ETC. 

Geneva, so as to include within its limits all the territory 
within the bounds of this state west of that line. This was 
then commonly known as the " Genesee country," although 
the title was occasionally more extensively applied, and 
from it has been formed the counties of Steuben, Allegany, 
Cattaraugus, Chatauque, Erie, Niagara, Genesee, Orleans, 
Monroe, Livingston, Yates, Wayne in part, leaving to a 
tract around the former chief town (Canandaigua) the name 
of Ontario. Oliver Phelps was appointed first judge on the 
organization of the county in 1789; and Gen. Vincent Ma- 
thews, a venerable counsellor still practising at the Rochester 
Bar (1838), was the first lawyer ever admitted to practice in 
the court which thus then held jurisdiction over this western 
region, from which twelve counties (excepting a part of one) 
have since been formed. (See article headed " the Bar of 
Rochester.") 

Herkimer county was erected from Montgomery, Febru- 
ary 16, 1791 — and parts of Otsego were added to Herkimer 
in 1816, with Danube, Salisbury, and Manheim from Mont- 
gomery in 1817. 

Otsego was taken from Montgomery on the 16th Febru- • 
ary, 1791 — since much reduced. 

Onondaga contained the Military Tract set apart by this 
Btate for the payment of bounties to the soldiers who served 1 
in behalf of this state in the army of the United States du- - 
ring the revolution. It was erected into a county taken i 
from Herkimer on the 5th of March, 1794 ; and afterward i 
modified by the erection of other counties. 

Tioga was taken from Montgomery on the 16th February, ) 
1794 — since modified. 

Steuben was formed from Ontario on the 18th March, 
1796 — since modified. 

Cayuga was formed from Onondaga on the 8th of March, 
1799 — and was reduced afterward by the formation of other 
counties. 

Oneida was taken from Herkimer on the 15th March, 
1799 — since which it has been much reduced by the forma- 
tion of other counties. 

Genesee was taken from Ontario, 3d March, 1802. The 
Genesee River became the boundary between the counties, 
and so continued until the erection of other counties. The 
ground now covered by the City of Rochester, lying on both 
sides of the Genesee River, was thus divided between twa 



SUBDIVISIONS OF WESTERN NEW-YORK. 



167 



counties till the erection of Monroe county in 1821, of which 
Rochester became the chief town. 

Seneca was taken from Cayuga, March 24, 1804 — and 
since modified. 

Allegany, from Genesee, April 7, 1806. 

Chatauque, Niagara, and Cattaraugus were formed into 
counties from parts of Genesee county, on the 11th of 
March, 1808. 

Oswego was taken from Oneida and Onondaga counties, 
March 1, 1816. 

Tompkins was taken from Cayuga and Seneca, April 7, 
1817 — since changed in limits. 

Monroe, from Ontario and Genesee, February 23, 1821 — 
Rochester being the chief town. 

Erie county was taken from Niagara on the 2d April, 
1821 — of which Buffalo is the capital. 

Livingston, from Ontario and Genesee, February 23, 
1823. 

Yates, from Ontario, February 5, 1823. 

Wayne, from Ontario and Seneca, April 11, 1823. 

Orleans, from Genesee, November 11, 1824. 

Chemung, from Tioga, March 29, 1836. 

An estimate of the comparative wealth and population of 
the ten counties into which the Province of New-York was 
•divided before the revolution, may be formed from an in- 
spection of the assessments about the year 1760. In raising 
ia tax of £10,000, part of a tax of £45,000 laid in 1755, the 
proportions settled by an act of the Assembly, as related in 
.Smith's History, stood thus : 



New-York, city and county, 




£3332 


King's, 




484 


Suffolk, 






860 


Richmond, . 






300 


Ulster, 






860 


Dutchess, . 






800 


Orange, 






300 


Westchester 






, 1100 


Queen's, 






. 1000 


Albany, including all 


the remaint 


lev q) 


p 



the state since subdivided as above 
shotvn, . 



1060 



While the Province of Connecticut, vastly inferior in ex- 



168 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

tent, contained in 1755 about 133,000 people, with a militia 
of 27.000 men — the population of the Province of New- 
York was computed at not more than 100,000, with a mili- 
tia amounting to 18,000. Monroe county alone contains a 
white population about two thirds as large as the whole ter- 
ritory of New- York contained at the above-mentioned date. 



Note. — The principal tracts into which Western New- 
York was early divided, are thus shown to have been the 
Holland Purchase, the Pulteney Estate, and the Military 
Tract. The lands in all these tracts are chiefly sold and 
occupied, although some minor tracts bought from the Hol- 
land Company by associations are yet sparsely settled. The 
public improvements by canals and railroads will soon leave 
little land unimproved in the southern tier of our western 
counties, wherein the wild tracts are chiefly located. 

In the Pulteney Estate, Captain Williamson was sue- ■ 
ceeded in the agency by Colonel Robert Troup — and Jo- • 
seph Fellowes, of Geneva, is the present agent. 

The general agents of the Holland Company have usually r'\ 
resided in Philadelphia. The first local agent at Batavia ij 
was Joseph Ellicott — and David E. Evans has been agent t 
for several years. 

The Military Tract was necessarily so frequently noticed 1 
in the accounts of the other tracts and in the arrangements 3 
with the Indians, that a brief account of it here has been 1 
deemed advisable. 

The interests of various kinds which the people of Ro- 1- 
Chester have in the surrounding country will doubtless ren-t 
der acceptable to many of them the particulars now inserted. I. ! 

Of the minor tracts, in which Rochester is considerably in- 
terested, we have noticed the two next westward — the " Tri- 
angle," and the " Connecticut" or "Hundred Thousand- 
acre Tract" — respecting which latter the Messrs. Ward, of 
Rochester, have an agency. 



PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT. 



HIGHWAYS — CANALS RAILROADS . 

The advantages which we now enjoy cannot be ade- 
quately appreciated by those who reflect not on the former 
condition of things. What vast changes in all the business 
relations of the country have been effected within thirty or 
iforty years ! An account of the origin and progress of 
roadmaking on the principal routes may serve as a toler- 
ably good index of the progress of improvement in the early 
settlement of Western New-York — while the retrospect may 
form a fitting prelude to the account that will shortly be 
.given of the System of Internal Improvement by canals and 
railroads which has so suddenly and wonderfully trans- 
formed the appearance of the country, and showered innu- 
merable benefits on the people, not merely of Western New- 
, York, but of the state at large, and of a considerable portion 
of the Union. 

j " The truth of the case was," says a traveller in 1800, 
;when accounting for the settlement which Capt. Williamson 
(agent of the Pulteney Estate) made on the high lands of 
Steuben county in preference to the richer lands in the 
northerly part of the tract — " The truth of the case was, 
that Capt. Williamson saw very clearly, on his first visit to 
the country, that the Susquehannah, and not the Mohawk, 
would be ultimately its best friend. Even now it has proved 
so ; for at this day (in the year 1800) a bushel of wheat is 
ibetter worth one hundred cents at Bath than sixty cents at 
[Geneva. This difference will grow wider every year ; for 
little, if any, additional improvement can be made in the 
water communication with New- York, while that to Bal- 
timore will admit of very extensive and advantageous 
ones," &c. 

What a commentary on the former condition of things is 
presented by the present course of trade and price of trans- 
portation through Western New- York ! 

15 



170 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

"In November, 1804 f " says the Albany Gazette, "a 
wagon-load of wheat was brought by four yoke of oxen from 
Bloomfield (Ontario county) to Albany, a distance of 230 
miles. The wheat was purchased at Bloomfield for 5s. cur- 
rency per bushel (62^ cents), and sold at Albany for 17s. 3d. 
per bushel (two dollars and 15| cents). The journey going 
and returning may be performed in twenty days, notwith- 
standing the badness of the roads at this season." 

But let us see the gradual progress of improvement as ev- 
idenced by the laws passed concerning the 

Highways of Western New- York. 

In 1792 " the road from Geneva to Canadagua was only 
an Indian path," says Col. Williamson, in a note to Maude's i 
travels. "On this road there were onl} r two families then i 
settled ; and Canadagua, the county town, consisted of fj 
only two small frame houses and a few huts, surrounded 1 
by thick woods. From Canadagua to the Genesee River 
[at Canawagus or Avon], twenty-six miles, only four fami- ■ 
lies resided on the road. Through all this country there 3 
are not only signs of extensive cultivation having been made 
at some early period, but there are found the remains of old I 
forts, where the ditches and gates are still visible." (See a 
notices of Antiquities in this volume.) 

Patrick Campbell, who travelled through Western New- ■ 
York in March, 1792, mentions that "the whole distance e, 
from the Onondaga Hollow to Cayuga was in forest" — and I 
that in Marcellus township he met with only one house and 
two new erected huts. 

1794. On the 22d of March, 1794, three commissioners 8 
were appointed for laying out a road, authorized bylaw,' 
from old Fort Schuyler (Utica), running as nearly straight as l 
practicable to the Cayuga Ferry [then] in Onondaga coun- 
ty, or to the outlet of Cayuga Lake, as they might choose ; 
thence to Canadagua (Canandaigua) ; and thence to the set- 
tlement at Canawagus (now Avon) on Genesee River, where 
the first bridge across that stream was built — (no bridge was 
erected where Rochester now stands till 1812). The road 
to be six rods wide ; and, for aiding in its construction, j£600 
was appropriated out of the proceeds of Military Lands for 
making the road through that tract — with £1500 for the re- 
mainder of the road, equal portions of said sum to be spent 
in Herkimer and Ontario. 



PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT. 171 

1798. The directions given to travellers about this time 
form a curious contrast to the condition of things in 1838. 
" Should curiosity induce you to visit the Falls of Niagara," 
says Col. Williamson in a note to Maude's travels, "you 
will proceed from Geneva by the state road to the Genesee 
River, which you will cross at New-Hartford [now Avon], 
west of which you will find the country settled for about 
twelve miles ; but after that, for sixty-five miles to the Ni- 
agara River, the country still remains a wilderness. This 
road was used so much last year (1797) by people on busi- 
ness, or by those whom curiosity had led to visit the Falls 
of Niagara, that a station was fixed at the Big Plains 
(twelve hours ride, or 38 miles west of the Genesee) to 
shelter travellers. At this place there are two roads that 
lead to Niagara River : the south road goes by Buffalo 
Creek, the other by Tonawanda village to Queenston or 
Lewiston landing. The road by Buffalo Creek is most 
used, both because it is better, and because it commands a 
view of Lake Erie ; and the road from this to the falls is 
along the banks of the Niagara River — a very interesting 
ride." "Queenstown contains from twenty to thirty houses," 
says Mr. Maude. " On the side of the river opposite to 
Queenstown [where Lewiston now stands], the government 
of the United States design to establish a landing, or, rather, 
to renew the old portage to Fort Schlosser. There are at 
present only two houses there, one of which is the ferry- 
house ; a road being opened from this to Tannawantee, dis- 
tant only thirty miles." "Another scheme of the Anglo- 
Americans," continues Maude, " is to do away the necessity 
of a portage by substituting a canal around the Niagara 
! Falls — an object best explained by a quotation from Capt. 
Williamson's Account of the Genesee." (See notices of In- 
ternal Improvement in this work.) 

1799. " The road from Fort Schuyler (Utica) to the Gen- 
esee, which in June, 1797, was little better than an Indian 
'path," says Col. Williamson, former agent of the Pulteney 
Estate, " was so far improved that a stage started from Fort 
Schuyler on the 30th September following, and arrived at 
the hotel of Geneva in the afternoon of the third day, with 
four passengers. This line of road having been established 
by law, not less than fifty families settled on it in the space 
'of four months after it was opened. It now bids fair to be, 
in a few years, one continued settlement from Fort Schuy- 



172 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

ler (Utica) to the Genesee-River. All last winter (1797) two 
stages, one of them a mailstage, ran from Geneva and Can- 
adarqua to Albany weekly." 

1800. "The great Genesee road turns off at this place 
(Utica) ; an act has lately passed for making it a turnpike 
road to Geneva and Canadarqua, and the expense is esti- 
mated at $1000 per mile — the road to be four rods wide," 
says Maude, an English traveller in 1800. "The inhab- 
itants of Utica," he adds, " subscribed to finish the first mile : 
they formed twenty shares of $50 each : these shares they 
afterward sold to Colonel Walker and Mr. Post (for forty- 
four cents the dollar), who have finished the first mile — and 
it is expected that thirty miles will be finished before the 
winter sets in. Utica contains about sixty houses." 

There was a bridge across the Mohawk at Utica at this 
time. 

1800. " A very handsome road, four rods, or sixty-six feet 
in width, has been cut out the whole distance from the Gen- 
esee River [at Avon] to Ganson's, being twelve miles nearly 
in a straight line westward," says Maude. 

A new road was commenced from Buffalo eastward, and I 
three miles of it completed this year — similar to the road cut t 
by Capt. Williamson from the Genesee River to Ganson's. 

1801. The law of the 8th April, 1801, relating to high- • 
ways, provided that, in all cases of carriages or sleighs I 
meeting westward of Schenectady, on the great roads run- • 
ning eastwardly and westwardly on either side of the Mo- • 
hawk River, and contiguous thereto, and from the village of! 
Utica, Oneida county, to the town of Canandarqua, in the. c 
county of Ontario, the carriages or sleighs going westwardly, 
should give way to those travelling eastwardly, under fines 
of $3. 

By the same law, the rivers forming the outlets of Canan- 
darqua, Seneca, Otsego, and Cayuga Lakes, and as much of 
the outlet of the Crooked Lake as is contained between the 
Seneca Lake and the lowest millseat on the said outlet, and 
the rivers formed by the outlets of the Owasco and Skane- 
atelas Lakes from their respective junctions with the Seneca: 
River to the first falls in each of the said rivers ; Nine-mile 
Creek, falling into Salt Lake, the outlet of said lake ; the 
Canaseraga and Chittenango Creeks ; Limestone and But- 
ternut Creeks, to their first falls ; Genesee River, from the 



PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT. 173 

great fall until its junction with Canaseraga Creek ; also the 
said creek to the south boundary of township number seven, 
seventh range, in [what was then] Ontario county ; also, 
Mud Creek, from the eastern boundary of township number 
twelve, third range, to the outlet of Canandarqua Lake ; 
also, the Rivers Conhocton and Canisteo, the one from the 
mills near Bath, the other from Big Marsh to Tioga River, 
and all the river within the state ; also, the west branch of 
Chenango River, from the north bounds of Virgil to the 
east branch ; thence down to Susquehannah River, and all 
that river in this state ; also, Oneida Creek, from the bridge 
near Oneida Castle to Oneida Lake — were all declared high- 
ways, excepting privileges for building stores and docks. 

Cayuga Bridge was commenced in May, 1799, and fin- 
ished in September, 1800. The length a mile and a quarter, 
the width admitted three wagons abreast. It was built by 
the Manhattan Company of New- York, and cost $150,000. 
" This bridge is the longest in America — perhaps in the 
world — and yet, five years ago," says a traveller in 1800, 
"the Indians possessed the shores of the lake, imbosomed 
in almost impenetrable woods." 

1804. John Swift, Grover Smith, and John Ellis were 
appointed commissioners to explore and lay out a public 
road of at least four rods wide, from the village of Salina 
in Onondaga county, to the northwest corner of the town- 
ship of Galen, and from thence through the towns of Pal- 
myra and Northfield (now Penfield), to or near the mouth 
of the Genesee River — the expense of exploring and laying 
out said road to be borne equally by the counties through 
which the route lay, viz. : Onondaga, Cayuga, and Ontario, 
according to the then divisions of the state. 

1810. Micah Brooks, Hugh M'Nair, and Matthew War^ 
ner acted as state commissioners for laying out a road from 
Arkport to Charlotte, to connect the navigation of the Sus* 
quehannah with Lake Ontario at the mouth of Genesee 
River. When at the spot where now stands the City of 
Rochester, they enjoyed the hospitalities of the " first hotel" 
hereabouts — first in erection and in character — for it was 
the only frame dwelling then in existence at this point. 
Their bedstead was of primitive solidity, resting as they 
did on a strawheap and bearskin on the ground floor. 
(The little frame shantee yet exists, nearly opposite the Sec? 
15* 



174 SKETCHES OP ROCHESTER, ETC. 

ond Methodist Church in St. PauPs-street ; and is one of the 
two represented in the frontispiece, "• Rochester in 1812.") 

In the same year the same commissioners laid out a road 
from Canandaigua to Olean, to connect the turnpike at Can- 
andaigua with the Mississippi Valley through the Allegany 
River. 

1810. Commissioners were appointed to explore and lay 
out a highway, at least four rods wide, from the bridge over 
Genesee River, near the village of Hartford [now Avon], 
in the town of Avon, in the county of Ontario, to the vil- 
lage of New- Amsterdam [now Buffalo], in the county of 
Niagara. Erie county, which includes Buffalo, has been 
cut off from Niagara since this date. The road to be open- 
ed by the people of the counties through which the line 
runs, &c. 

1812. Commissioners were appointed to superintend the | 
improvement of the road laid out from Genesee River at : 
Avon to Buffalo, via Batavia. $5000 to be paid for such | 
improvement by the state from the proceeds of state lands > 
on the Niagara frontier. 

1812. The construction of the first bridge at Rochester 
caused the diversion of some travelling from the other route, , 
and gave an impetus to the making of roads pointing to this I 
bridging-place — it being the only point whereat the riven 
could then be crossed in that way between Avon and Lake: 
Ontario. "It may tend to give an idea of the commercial 
and civil importance of this section at that time," says Eve- 
rard Peck, Esq., in the Rochester Directory for 1827, "to 
state that the mail was in 1812 carried from Canandaigua; 
once a week on horseback, and part of the time by a woman 1"' 

1813. The Legislature granted $5000 for cutting out the 
path and bridging the streams on the Ridge-Road (between 
Rochester and Lewiston), which was then almost impassa- 
We. 

1814. Jabez Bradley, David Ogden, and others were in- j 
corporated, with a capital of $20,000, in shares of $20 each, 
to make a turnpike-road from the termination of the " fourth 
great western turnpike-road," in the town of Homer, Cort- 
land county, through the towns of Locke and Genoa, Cay- 
uga county, to the east shore of Cayuga Lake. 

1815. James Ganson, Joseph M'Clure, and Ira Selbj 
were appointed to lay out and establish a road, beginning a' 
Van Orman's in the town of Canandaigua, to the bridge 



PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT. 175 

[then] to be erected across the Genesee River near the 
house of Horatio Jones [between Geneseo and Moscow], 
conforming to and as near the present postroad as may be ; 
thence in the nearest direction to the southeasterly shore of 
Lake Erie, between the house of Zenas Barker and the 
mouth of Eighteen-mile Creek — the expense of such laying 
out to be borne by the three counties through which the 
road was to pass, viz. : Ontario, Genesee, and Niagara, ac- 
cording to the then existing divisions of the state. 

1815. Samuel Hildreth, of Pittsford, commenced running 
a stage and carrying the mail twice a week between Can- 
andaigua and Rochester, a distance of twenty-eight miles. 

In the same year a private weekly mailroute was estab- 
lished between Rochester and Lewiston on the Niagara 
River — dependant on the income of the postoffices on the 
route for its support. And it was not till 

1816 that any inquiry was deemed proper "as to the 
expediency of establishing a postroute from the village of 
Canandaigua, by way of the village of Rochester, to the 
village of Lewiston, in the county of Niagara and State of 
New- York" — a resolution to this effect having then been 
presented to Congress by Gen. Micah Brooks (then the only 
representative of the double district which included all that 
portion of the state westward of Seneca Lake — Gen. Peter 
B. Porter, his colleague, having been appointed a commis- 
sioner to settle the boundary question with Great Britain). 

The simple fact that ten mails for various quarters leave 
the City of Rochester daily in 1837, is sufficient (without 
particular reference to canal, lake, or railroad communica- 
tions) to indicate the contrast which the present state of 
things furnishes to that set forth in the foregoing statements. 



ORIGIN AND PROGRESS OF THE CANAL SYSTEM. 

The extent to which the people of Rochester are interest- 
ed in the navigation of the Erie Canal — an extent which may 
be inferred from the fact that they either own or control 
about one half of the stock in all the regular transportation 
lines on that great water-way* — will doubtless furnish to 
them a sufficient apology for the length of the following ar- 

* See article concerning the " Canal Trade of Rochester." 



176 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

tide, in which we have endeavoured to trace the agencies 
that have resulted in establishing that system of inter- 
nal improvement, of which the Erie Canal is the grand- 
est feature. The necessity already existing for enlarging 
that important thoroughfare has a tendency to increase the 
interest manifested by our citizens on this subject. The 
fact that several of the most influential agents in establish- 
ing the Canal Policy are personally known to many among 
us — some of them having resided, or being still residents in 
Rochester and the surrounding country — combines with the 
other considerations in inducing us to present, as fully as prac- 
ticable in this work, as many particulars as seemed necessary 
to elucidate the origin and progress of that essential policy 
of the state. With the facts already given respecting the 
highways of Western New-York, those who are not conver- 
sant with the subject may find here some interesting data 
concerning the early history of the country, the progressive 
settlement of which is pretty clearly indicated by the march 
of improvement in the matters of roadmaking and canalling. 
These canal operations might have been much more briefly 
despatched ; but it has been deemed advisable to quote lib- 
erally the language of those who were chiefly instrumental 
in producing the glorious results in the history of our Inter- 
nal Improvements. 

The remarkable features of Western New- York, with ref- 
erence to water communications, early arrested the attention 
of the pioneers, as they had previously commanded the no- 
tice of the Indian occupants of the country. The interlock- 
age of streams rolling their waters to the ocean in various di- 
rections, the benefits resulting from the many lakes diversi- 
fying the surface of this region, the facilities furnished by 
the chain of inland seas with which connexion exists on the 
north and west, and with the rivers flowing towards the 
Gulf of Mexico, and towards the Bays of Chesapeake, Del- 
aware, and New-York, presented such manifold attractions 
as might well command the consideration of contemplative 
minds, while suggesting to the trader and soldier the advan- 
tages inseparable from suitable canals in lieu of portages 
between the various waters which thus wonderfully approx- 
imate at their sources or in their courses towards opposite 
points of the continent. 

When the British supplanted the Dutch in possession of 



PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT. 177 

the Province (now State) of New- York, the streams which 
with short portages connected the Hudson River with Lake 
Champlain and with Lake Ontario, were the routes by which 
intercourse was maintained in peace or war between the tra- 
ding-posts on the lakes and the St. Lawrence and those on 
the Hudson. So that, for purposes of trade or blood, these 
nearly perfect water-communications were early and well 
known to the traders and soldiers, as well as to the Red 
Men who came to traffic with, or to fight for or against the 
English colonies. 

Dr. Colden, the historian of the Five Nations, who was 
surveyor-general of the Province of New- York, prepared a 
map for his work about a hundred years ago, showing the 
present territory of this state and other lands which were 
included therewith in what were known as the hunting- 
grounds of those enterprising tribes. That map early ren- 
dered many familiar with the facilities of water-communica- 
tion which they had not practically experienced. Indeed, 
so closely were the waters of the Hudson and the St. Law- 
rence known to approach, that some travellers about the 
middle of the last century wrote on the supposition that the 
water-communication was actually perfect. It was because 
of the convenience of the communications with the country of 
the Iroquois or Five Nations, that Gov. Burnet, in 1726, erect- 
ed a fort and trading-house where Oswego now stands, " be- 
tween the lakes and Schenectady, there being but three port- 
ages, and those very short." "I have said that when we 
are in Lake Ontario we are upon a level with the French, 
because here we can meet with all the Indians that design 
to go to Montreal," said the venerable Colden about a hun- 
dred years ago. " But, besides this passage by the lakes, 
there is a river [now called the Seneca] which comes from 
the country of the Senecas, and falls into the Onondaga 
[now Oswego] River, by which we have an easy carriage 
into that country without going near Lake Ontario. The 
head of this river goes near to Lake Erie, and probably 
may give a very near passage into that lake, much more 
advantageous than the way the French are obliged to take 
by the great Fall of Niagara," &c. Thus early was atten- 
tion turned to the streams of Western New-York — to the 
waters leading towards Lake Erie, as well as towards the 
Ontario. 

The route from the Hudson to Lake Ontario was through 



178 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC 

the Mohawk River, Wood Creek, Oneida Lake, and Oswe- 
go River. The portage "between the Mohawk and Wood 
Creek was about three or four miles long. The navigation 
of the Mohawk itself was somewhat interrupted by rifts and 
bars, as well as falls, which were obviated by short portages. 

The route from the Hudson to Lake Champlain was by 
another creek called Wood Creek, between which and the 
Hudson there was a short portage. 

Governor Moore, in 1768, urged upon the Colonial Legis- 
lature the propriety of improving the route between Sche- 
nectady and Lake Ontario, stating that " obstructions in the 
Mohawk River, occasioned by the Falls of Conojoharie, had 
been constantly complained of, and that it was obvious to all 
who were conversant in matters of this kind, that the diffi- 
culty could be easily remedied by sluices upon the plan of 
those in the great canal of Languedoc in France, which was 
made to open a communication between the Atlantic and the 
Mediterranean." 

The Ontario route to the lakes, as well as the Champlain 
route from the Hudson to Montreal, was thus evidently well 
understood even before the revolution, though nothing effi- 
cient was accomplished towards the completion of the routes 
by constructing canals or sluices at the several portages. 

It is worthy of notice, that the chief who led the American 
people through the revolution was foremost in turning at- 
tention to the improvement of these and other water commu- 
nications after the restoration of peace. The subject had 
previously largely occupied his attention, and his resignation 
of military command was speedily followed by a tour of in- 
spection through Western New-York. The feelings with 
which Washington was animated are vividly portrayed, not 
merely by his biographer, but by his own letters, as will be I 
seen by the following paragraph from Marshall's History : — 

" To a person looking beyond the present moment, and 
taking the future into view, it is only necessary to glance 
over the map of the United States to be impressed with the 
incalculable importance of connecting the western with the 
eastern territory, by facilitating the means of intercourse be- 
tween them. To this subject the attention of Gen. Wash- 
ington had been in some measure directed in the early part 
of his life. While the American states were yet British 
colonies, he had obtained the passage of a bill empowering 
those individuals who would engage in the work to open the 



PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT. 179 

Potomac so as to render it navigable from the tide to Wills's 
Creek. The James River had also been comprehended in 
his plan ; and he had triumphed so far over the opposition 
produced by local interests and prejudices, that the business 
was in a train which promised success, when the revolution- 
ary war diverted the attention of its patrons, and of all Amer- 
ica, from internal improvements to the great objects of liberty 
and independence. As that war approached its termination, 
subjects which for a time had yielded their pretensions to 
consideration reclaimed that place to which their real mag- 
nitude entitled them ; and the internal navigation again at- 
tracted the attention of the wise and thinking part of society. 
Accustomed to contemplate America as his country, and to 
consider with solicitude the interests of the whole, Washing- 
ton now took a more enlarged view of the advantages to be 
derived from opening both the eastern and western waters ; 
and for this as well as for other purposes, after peace had 
been proclaimed, he traversed the western parts of New- 
England and New- York. « I have lately,' said he, in a let- 
ter to the Marquis of Chastellux, a foreigner who was in 
pursuit of literary as well as of military fame, ' I have lately 
made a tour through the Lakes George and Champlain, as 
far as Crown Point ; then returning to Schenectady, I pro- 
ceeded up the Mohawk River to Fort Schuyler [or Stanvvix], 
crossed over to Wood Creek, which empties into the Oneida 
Lake, and affords the water communication with Ontario. 
I then traversed the country to the head of the eastern banks 
of the Susquehannah, and viewed the Lake Otsego and the 
portage between that lake and the Mohawk River at Cana- 
joharie. Prompted by these actual observations, I could 
not help taking a more contemplative and extensive view of 
the vast inland navigation of these United States, and could 
not but be struck with the immense diffusion and importance 
of it, and with the goodness of that Providence who has 
dealt his favours with so profuse a hand. Would to God 
we may have wisdom to improve them ! I shall not rest 
contented until I have explored the western country, and 
traversed those lines (or great part of them) which have 
given bounds to a new empire.' " 

After returning from a journey westward as far as Pitts- 
burgh, in the same year, Washington immediately appealed 
to the Virginians to embark in an enterprise for improving 
the water-courses, so as to connect the east and west as in- 



180 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

timately as possible — a matter which he deemed not more 
important in a commercial view than in a political aspect, 
seeing that the Spaniards then swayed the regions beyond 
the Mississippi, and controlled the outlet of that river. He 
urged the appointment of commissioners to report the best 
means for improving the James and Potomac Rivers, and to 
designate the best portages between those waters and the 
streams capable of improvement which run into the Ohio. 
The navigable waters west of the Ohio towards the great 
lakes were also to be traced to their sources, and those 
which empty into the lakes to be followed to their mouths. 
" These things being done, and an accurate map of the whole 
presented to the public," he " was persuaded that reason 
would dictate what was right and proper." He looked to 
Congress for encouragement to the portion of the project 
which concerned the streams in the territory northwest of 
the Ohio — urging the benefits to be derived from the en- 
hanced value of lands as a sufficient inducement, independ- 
eat of the many advantages incident to the enterprise. , 
" Nature had made such an ample display of her bounties i 
in those regions," he said, " that, the more the country 
was explored, the more it would rise in estimation." 

The influence of Washington was strenuously exerted to I 
arouse Maryland to co-operate with Virginia in improving 3 
the navigation of the Potomac. He predicted the exertions 5 
which would doubtless be made by New-York and Penn- 
sylvania for securing the monopoly of the western trade, andc 
the difficulty which would be found by Virginia in diverting* 
it from the channel it had once taken. " I am not for dis-i 
couraging the exertions of any state to draw the commerce) 
of the western country to its seaports," said the illustrious 
patriot. "The more communications we open to it, the i 
closer we bind that rising world (for indeed it may be I 
so called) to our interests, and the greater strength shall 
we acquire by it. Those to whom nature affords the best 
communications will, if they are wise, enjoy the greatest 
share of the trade. All I would be understood to mean; 
therefore, is, that the gifts of Providence may not be neglect 
ed." After enforcing the political necessity for improving th< 
intercourse between the west and east, so as to prevent th< 
flow of trade from the western states to the mouth of thi 
Mississippi, then held by the Spaniards, or through the St 
Lawrence, controlled at its outlet by the British, he said, "I 



PROGRESS OP IMPROVEMENT. 181 

then the trade of that country should flow through the Mis- 
sissippi or the St. Lawrence — if the inhabitants thereof 
should form commercial connexions, which we know lead 
to intercourses of other kinds, they would in a few years be 
as unconnected with us as are those of South America. It 
may be asked, How are we to prevent tins ? Happily for us, 
the way is plain. Our immediate interests, as well as re- 
mote political advantages, point to it ; while a combination 
of circumstances render the present time more favourable 
than any other to accomplish it. Extend the inland naviga- 
tion of the. eastern waters — connect them as near as possi- 
ble with those which run westward — open these to the Ohio 
— open also such as extend from the Ohio towards Lake 
Erie, and we shall not only draw the produce of the west- 
ern settlers, but the peltry and fur-trade of the lakes also, 
to our ports — thus adding an immense increase to our ex- 
ports, and binding those people to us by a chain which can 
never be broken." 

Virginia and Maryland concurred in chartering a canal 
company, of which Washington accepted the presidency, the 
design of which was not only to open a free navigation of 
the Potomac, but eventually to remove obstructions in such 
branches of the Ohio as point towards Lake Erie — so as not 
only to give a direction to the fur-trade from Detroit to Alex- 
andria, but also to attract the produce of those vast interve- 
ning countries which lay then in a state of nature. " To de- 
monstrate the practicability of this, and the policy of preserv- 
ing a commercial intercourse with those extended regions, 
especially should the Mississippi be opened [it was at that 
time closed by the Spaniards against the Americans], was his 
constant and favourite theme," says Elkanah Watson, under 
date of 1785. " To establish also the probability that the fur- 
trade from Detroit will take this direction, General Washington 
produced to me the following estimate, which I copied from 
his manuscript in his presence, and with his aid, viz., 4 From 
Detroit at the head of Lake Erie, via Fort Pitt (now Pitts- 
burgh), and Fort Cumberland at the head of the Potomac, is 
607 miles — to Richmond, 840 miles — to Philadelphia, 741 
miles — to Albany, 943 — to Montreal, 955 miles.' Thus it 
appears that Alexandria is 348 miles nearer Detroit than 
Montreal, with only two carrying-places of about 40 miles." 

Almost contemporaneously with the personal inspection 
of some of our watercourses by General Washington, the 

16 



1S2 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

question of internal improvement was presented to the Legis- 
lature of this state by an individual to whose exertions in 
the great cause voluntary testimony was borne by De Witt 
Clinton and Cadwallader D. Colden — by the former in the 
essays published under the signature of" Tacitus," and by 
the latter in his memoir prepared for the great Canal Cele- 
bration. Governor Clinton, in the essays just mentioned, 
declared that " Mr. Christopher Colles, a native of Ireland, 
who settled in New- York, and who had before the revolu- 
tionary war proposed a plan for supplying that city with 
good water [' and who had in 1772 given public lectures 
in Philadelphia on the subject of lock navigation,' says 
Colden], was the first person who suggested to the govern- 
ment of the state the canals and improvements on the On- 
tario route. Colles was a man of good character, an inge- 
nious mechanician, and well skilled in the mathematics. Un- 
fortunately for him, and perhaps for the public, he was gen- 
erally considered a visionary projector, and his plans were 
sometimes treated with ridicule, and frequently viewed with 
distrust. 

"In the session of the Legislature of 1784," continues 
Governor Clinton, " Mr. Adgate, from the committee to whom 
was referred the memorial of Christopher Colles, proposing 
some interesting improvements in inland navigation, reported, 
1 That it is the opinion of the committee that the laudable 
proposals of Mr. Colles for removing the obstructions in the 
Mohawk River, so that boats of burden may pass the same, 
merit the encouragement of the public ; but that it would be 
inexpedient for the Legislature to cause that business to be 
undertaken at the public expense : That as the performing 
such a work will be very expensive, it is therefore the opinion 
of the committee, that if Mr. Colles, with a number of ad- 
venturers (as by him proposed), should undertake it, they 
ought to be encouraged by a law giving and securing unto 
them, their heirs, and assigns for ever, the profits that may 
arise from transportation, under such restrictions and regu- 
lations as shall appear to the Legislature necessary for that 
purpose ; and authorizing them to execute that work through 
any lands or improvements, on payment of the damages to 
the proprietors, as the same shall be assessed by a jury;' " 
and it appears that this report was sanctioned by the house. 

" At the next meeting of the Legislature, Mr. Colles again 
presented a memorial ; and on the 5th of April, 1785, a fa- 



PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT. 183 

vourable report was made by the committee to whom it was 
referred ; and one hundred and twenty-five dollars was ap- 
propriated in the supply bill * for the purpose of enabling 
him to make an essay towards removing certain obstructions 
in the Mohawk River, and to exhibit a plan thereof to the 
Legislature at their next meeting.' 

" In pursuance of this arrangement, Mr. Colles visited 
the country to be affected by the intended improvements, 
and took an actual survey of the principal obstructions upon 
the Mohawk River as far as Wood Creek. The results of 
this journey of observation and survey were published by 
him in a pamphlet entitled i Proposals for the Speedy Settle- 
ment of the Waste and Unappropriated Lands on the Western 
Frontier of the State of New-York, and for the Improvement 
of the Inland Navigation between Albany and Oswego. 
Printed at New- York by Samuel Loudon, 1785.' " 

In this pampWet Mr. Colles enters into certain calcula- 
tions illustrative of his proposed design. He observes : 
" From the foregoing views, the importance of the proposed 
design will appear sufficiently evident. By this the internal 
trade will be increased ; by this also the foreign trade will 
be promoted ; by this the country will be settled ; by this 
the frontiers will be secured ; by this a variety of articles, 
as masts, yards, and ship-timber, may be brought to New- 
York, which will not bear the expense of land-carriage, and 
which, notwithstanding, will be a considerable remittance to 
Europe. By this, in time of war, provisions and military 
stores may be moved with facility in sufficient quantities to 
answer any emergency ; and by this, in time of peace, all 
the necessaries, conveniences, and, if we please, the luxuries 
of life, may be distributed to the remotest parts of the great 
lakes, which so beautifully diversify the face of this extensive 
continent, and to the smallest branches of the numerous riv- 
ers which shoot from these lakes upon every point of the 
compass. 

" ' Providence indeed appears to favour this design ; for 
the Allegany Mountains, which pass through all the states, 
seem to die away as they approach the Mohawk River ; and 
the ground between the upper part of this river and Wood 
Creek is perfectly level, as if designedly to permit us to 
pass through this channel into this extensive inland country. 

81 ' The amazing extent of the five great lakes to which the 
proposed navigation will communicate, will be found to have 



184 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

five times as much coast as all England ; and the country wa- 
tered by the numerous rivers which fall into these lakes, full 
seven or eight times as great as that valuable island. If the fer- 
tility of the soil be the object of our attention, we will find it at 
an average equal to Britain. Of late years, the policy of that 
island has been to promote inland navigation ; and the advan- 
tages, gained both by the public and individuals, have been at- 
tended with such happy consequences, that it is intersected in 
all manner of directions by these valuable water-ways, by 
which the inhabitants receive reciprocally the comforts of 
the respective productions, whether flowing from the bounty 
of Providence or the effects of industry ; and, by an exchange 
of commodities, render partial and particular improvements 
the source of universal abundance.' " At the next session 
Mr. Colles renewed his application ; and on the 8th of March, 
1786, a committee reported favourably on a " memorial of 
Christopher Colles and his associates," and leave was given 
to bring in a bill to compensate them for the purposes spe- 
cified in the memorial. It does not appear that any further 
steps were taken on the part of Mr. Colles. His operations 
probably failed for the want of subscribers to the contempla- 
ted association. It is not a little remarkable," says Tacitus, 
in conclusion, " that this project commenced so soon after 
the termination of the revolutionary war, and that contem- 
poraneous efforts were made in some of the Southern States." 

Col. Robert Troup, who was an assemblyman in 1786, 
remarks, " That on reviewing the journals of the assembly, 
he finds that, on the 1st of February, 1786, ' a petition from 
Christopher Colles, with a report of the practicability of 
rendering the Mohawk River navigable, was referred to 
Jeffrey Smith and others ;' and adds, that it is therefore very 
possible that Mr. Colles may have furnished Mr. Smith with 
the idea of ' extending the navigation to Lake Erie.' " 

t; Notwithstanding what has been said of the suggestions 
made by General Schuyler in 1797, and by Gouverneur Mor- 
ris in 1800, relative to the extension of the navigation to 
Lake Erie," observes Dr. Hosack, " the journals of the 
Legislature, as early as 1786, show that Mr. Jeffrey Smith, 
and, probably, Christopher Colles, must have preceded them 
in this view of the measure." 

In the Canal memoir, Colden remarks, that " the difficul- 
ties which Mr. Colles met with seem to have subdued his 
enterprise. Though his plan for connecting the northern 



PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT. 185 

and southern, and eastern and western waters was revived 
in 1791, it does not appear that Mr. Colles had any connex- 
ion with it." He was " the projector and attendant of the 
telegraph erected during the last war on Castle Clinton," in 
the harbour of New- York. " Genius and talents, much above 
the sphere in which he seems to have moved in the latter 
part of his life, could not rescue him from obscurity and 
poverty ; but it would be ungrateful to forget him at this 
time," says Mr. Colden, with reference to the great Canal 
Celebration at New- York commemorative of the union of the 
Atlantic with the Lakes. " No one can say how far we owe 
this occasion to the ability with which he developed the 
great advantages that would result from opening the com- 
munications with the lakes — to the clear views he presented 
of the facility with which these communications might be 
made — and to the activity with which he for some time pur- 
sued this object His contemporaries have not been insen- 
sible of his merits, and have preserved a portrait of him, by 
Jarvis, in the gallery of the New- York Historical Society." 
The testimony of Clinton and Colden is thus quoted respecting 
the projects and character of one of the earliest advocates of 
internal improvement, inasmuch as efforts* have been made 
to deprive him of the credit due to his early and earnest efforts 
to arouse adequate attention at the time to the cause of in- 
ternal improvement. 

The Legislature of 1791 had the subject of improvement 
warmly pressed upon their attention by Governor George 
Clinton. " Our frontier settlements, freed from apprehen- 
sions of danger," said the governor, " are rapidly increas- 
ing, and must soon yield extensive resources for profitable 
commerce. This consideration forcibly recommends the 
policy of continuing to facilitate the means of communication 
with them, as well to strengthen the bonds of society, as to 
prevent the produce of those fertile districts from being di- 
verted to other markets." 

The recommendations of the governor were answered 
by the passage of a law " concerning roads and inland navi- 

* In a book published to prove that Mr. Elkanah Watson originated 
the canal system, Mr. Colles is spoken of as " a man who arrived from 
Ireland in New- York prior to our Revolutionary War" — " a visionary 
projector" — who " was never in the western country" — " an obscure 
man of no consideration" — " wholly incompetent to conceive such a 
project," &c 

16* 



186 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

gation," which authorized surveys of the lands between the 
Mohawk River and Wood Creek, in what was then Herki- 
mer county, and between Hudson River and Wood Creek, in 
Washington county. The routes were promptly surveyed 
by direction of the commissioners of the land-office, and at 
the next session charters were granted to the Western In- 
land Lock Navigation Company and the Northen Inland 
Lock Navigation Company. 

General Schuyler was chosen president of the Western 
Company, which consisted of about fifty influential citizens, 
among whom Elkanah Watson, Thos. Eddy, Jeremiah Van 
Rensselaer, Robert Bowne, and Barent Bleecker, were dis- 
tinguished for their zeal in co-operating with their indefati- 
gable president. This company aimed to improve the natu- 
ral water-courses, and to open communications by canals to 
the Seneca Lake and Lake Ontario ; and fifteen years were 
allowed for the accomplishment of the work, though the 
requisite canalling extended but a few miles — so great was 
the task considered ! The improvement undertaken by this 
company was, however, almost completed in 1796-7, four 
or five years after the law was passed. The canal at Lit- 
tle Falls extended nearly three miles, with five locks ; that 
at the German Flats one mile and a quarter ; and the canal 
from the Mohawk to Wood Creek one mile and three quar- 
ters — making an aggregate of about six miles of canalling. 
Such works, important as they were then thought, could now 
be accomplished in a single month, as indicated by the speed 
with which the Erie Canal and other similar undertakings 
have since been executed. After their principal works had 
been constructed and once rebuilt, it was found they must be 
again reconstructed; and the company employed Mr. Weston, 
an eminent engineer from England, to superintend the enter- 
prise. But when the improvements were so far completed 
as to permit the passage of boats between Schenectady 
and Oneida Lake, the amount of the expenditures (upward of 
$400,000) caused such heavy charges for toll that "the 
canals were but little used — land-carriage and the natural 
rivers being generally preferred." The old locks at Little 
Falls, the ruins of which are yet visible, served for a while 
to form a connexion between the Erie Canal and the Mohawk 
River. 

The Northern Inland Lock Navigation Company made 
some improvement in the watercourses on the route between 
the Hudson and Champlain, but was dissolved without hav- 



PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT. 187 

ing made any canal, or fulfilled the expectations which caused 
the incorporation. 

Some of the prominent advocates of Internal Improve- 
ments about this period should be noticed in connexion with 
the above-mentioned undertakings. " Gen. Schuyler de- 
serves to be first mentioned," says Colden. " Distinguished 
by the force and energy of his character — for his abilities, 
acquirements, and enterprise — he was one of the earliest, 
most strenuous, and most able supporters of improvements in 
our internal navigation. It has been justly said that he was 
the master-spirit which infused life and vigour into the whole 
undertaking. Mr. Elkanah Watson had, as early as 1788, 
attended an Indian treaty at Fort Stanwix. The view which 
he at that time obtained of the country impressed him with 
the practicability and advantages of the water-communica- 
tions which Mr. Colles had several years previously ex- 
plored and described in his publication above noticed. Of 
Mr. Colles's proceedings, Mr. Watson appears to have had 
no knowledge. Mr. Watson transcribed the ideas he enter- 
tained on this subject in a journal he kept at the time — ex- 
tracts from which he published in 1820, in a work entitled 
* A History of the Rise, Progress, and Existing Condition of 
the Western Canals.' This publication is avowedly made 
by Mr. Watson with a view to vindicate his claims ' to the 
exclusive honour of projecting the canal policy' of the State 
of New-York. In the same year that the act of the 21st of 
March, 1791, was passed for surveying the contemplated 
routes, Mr. Watson made a journey in the western part of 
the state. All his views of the water-communications 
(which had been previously proposed by Mr. Colles) were 
confirmed and strengthened, and he employed his pen in 
writing and publishing essays, which, no doubt, had an im- 
portant influence on public opinion in favour of the canals. 
He also published, in the work last referred to, his journal of 
this tour. These private journals of Mr. Watson, by some 
means unknown to him, as he states in the preliminary re- 
marks to his History of the Canals, were obtained by the 
London booksellers, and published by them previously to 
1795 — and were, to the astonishment of Mr. Watson, refer- 
red to by Mr. Philips in his History of Canals, the first edi- 
tion of which was published about 1796." 

The scheme of improvement between the Hudson and 
Lake Ontario was succeeded by a project to connect that 
lake with Erie by a canal around the Falls of Niagara. For 



188 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

this purpose the " Niagara Company" was chartered in 
1798, and some movements were made (though nothing ef- 
fectual was accomplished) towards the execution of the plan 
— among the most sanguine supporters of which was Capt. 
Williamson, who was agent of the Pulteney Estate, and one 
of the most enterprising pioneers of Western New-York. 

" This project, in preference to that [the great Erie Ca- 
nal] which has been executed," said Mr. Colden in 1826, 
M has had its advocates till a very late day. It is impossible 
to say, when we are looking for the dawnings of the idea of 
an artificial water-communication between Lake Erie and 
the Hudson, whether those who first anticipated such a con- 
nexion, and have mentioned it in their writings, did not con- 
template this as the route by which the communication 
would be effected, rather than that it would be made on the 
line occupied by the canal which now exists." The language 
as well as the date shows that this was written before the 
construction of the Oswego Canal. "But this act of 1798, 
and the project of locking around the Great Falls, to which 
it was intended to give effect, seem very convincing proof 
that up to this time no person had thought of an inland lock 
navigation directly from Lake Erie to the Hudson. Indeed, 
I may say that, up to the time when this act was passed, I 
have not found, in anything written upon the subject, a sin- 
gle syllable intimating that the idea of such a canal had 
been conceived by any human being. It unquestionably had 
not entered into the minds of either of the companies incor- 
porated in 1792. The views of the Western Inland Lock 
Navigation Company certainly extended no farther than to 
improve the natural watercourses between the mouth of the 
Oswego River and the Mohawk, and to connect them by the 
short cuts which were necessary for that purpose." To use 
Mr. Watson's own expressions, who was one of the Western 
Company, " The utmost stretch of their views was to follow 
the track of nature's canal, and to remove natural or artifi- 
cial obstructions ; but they never entertained the most dis- 
tant conception of a canal from Lake Erie to the Hudson. 
They would not have considered it" (continues Mr. Watson) 
" much more extravagant to have suggested the possibility of 
a canal to the moon." " The efforts of this company on the 
Mohawk had proved so expensive and so little encouraging, 
that they shrunk from an attempt to complete their original 
design by extending their work to Lake Ontario. In 1808 
they surrendered so much of their grant as gave them any 



PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT. 189 

privileges beyond Oneida Lake ; and subsequently, when 
the Legislature had determined on executing the northern 
and western canals, they ceded to the state, for a sum much 
less than they had expended, all their privileges and works. 
But, although those who were connected with these naviga- 
tion companies, and who encouraged and promoted the ob- 
jects of these associations, cannot justly claim, indeed never 
have claimed, the merit of projecting the great canals, we 
should do them great injustice did we not acknowledge that 
we owe a great deal to their genius and enterprise. Their 
ill success, it is true, for some time damped the spirit of im- 
provement ; yet their efforts roused the public attention, and 
induced inquiries and investigations which have led to the 
great works," &c. 

Gouverneur Morris was among the earliest of those 
whose minds grasped, with zealous energy, the magnificent 
subject of internal improvements. The extraordinary adap- 
tation of the country for canalling between the Hudson and 
the western lakes, with the political as well as commer- 
cial advantages to be derived from extensive inland water- 
communication, were early and enthusiastically proclaimed 
by that gifted man. While on a tour to Niagara Falls in 
1800, his language to a European correspondent indicated 
that he comprehended well the vast navigable capacities of 
the country, even though he had then no conception of a 
communication like the Erie Canal. " Hundreds of large 
ships will, in no distant period, bound on the billows of these 
inland seas," was the language of Mr. Morris to his foreign 
correspondent. " Shall I lead your astonishment up to the 
verge of incredulity ? I will. Know, then, that one tenth part 
of the expense borne by Britain in the last campaign would 
enable ships to sail from London through the Hudson River 
into Lake Erie. As yet, we only crawl along the outer 
shell of our country. The interior excels the part we in- 
habit in soil, in climate, in everything. The proudest em- 
pire of Europe is but a bawble compared to what America 
may be — must, be." In the following year, through a letter 
to Mr. Lee, Mr. Morris mentioned Lake Ontario as the 
point to which he thought it was practicable to open a canal. 
In 1803, while conversing with Simeon De Witt, the late 
surveyor-general of the state, Mr. Morris noticed the possi- 
bility of " tapping Lake Erie." "But yet it is very uncer- 
tain," says Mr. Colden, "whether Mr. M.'s idea was at 
these times that a canal might be made directly from the 



190 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

Hudson to that lake. He might have conceived that a ship 
from London would sail into Ontario by the canal which had 
then been so long thought of; and from thence into Erie by 
the locks around the Niagara Falls, which were contem- 
plated by the act of 1798 — and he might have conceived the 
possibility of tapping Lake Erie, by leading its waters in the 
same course." 

It would seem apparent enough, from his emphatic lan- 
guage, that such were his ideas — that he contemplated the 
passage to Lake Erie by what is termed the Ontario route 
— as it cannot readily be imagined that he faniced " ships 
would sail from London to Lake Erie" through the " over- 
land route" between the Mohawk and that freshwater sea. 

"But subsequently, and particularly at about the time the 
project of making a canal from Lake Erie to the Hudson 
first attracted the attention of the Legislature, Mr. Morris 
became one of its most active and able advocates." He re- 
fused to sign a report from the canal board (of which he was 
a member) in 1816, " because, it has been said, he was dis- 
satisfied that his idea of an inclined plane was in a great 
measure abandoned." — (Colden.) " His plan of an inclined 
plane, on the whole extent of about 600 feet rise and fall," 
says Elkanah Watson, after eulogizing Mr. Morris's exer- 
tions in favour of internal improvement, " was indeed truly 
visionary in a view of permanency, and absolutely impracti- 
cable for vessels carrying 100 tons burden." 

But whatever pictures fancy may have formed of a com- 
Timnication like the present canal between the Hudson and 
Lake Erie, no calculations were placed publicly in a tangi- 
ble shape till the year 1807. The essays of Jesse Haw- 
ley, which appeared under the signature of Hercules in a 
Pittsburgh paper, and in the Genesee Messenger, at Can- 
andaigua, during the years 1807-8, presented this great 
question in an aspect calculated to command attention. 
Facts were furnished to show how wonderfully the pecu- 
liarities of the country favoured the scheme of an overland 
route from Lake Erie to the Mohawk, near Rome or Ulica 
— whence the river navigation might be improved as the 
connecting link with the Hudson. The route mentioned by 
Mr. Hawley commenced at Buffalo, and pursued nearly the 
track which was subsequently adopted — the " northern 
route" (as it was termed) as far eastward as the Genesee, in 
preference to the southern one from Erie to that river 
through the Tonawanta Valley, which latter route was pre- 



PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT. 191 

ferred by Mr. Ellicott, and was not abandoned in favour of 
the northern route till 1820. The whole length of the pro- 
posed canal, from the lake to the Mohawk, was about 200 
miles, and the estimated cost was five millions. This was 
for a trunk 100 feet wide and 10 feet deep. The propor- 
tions were much diminished in the construction of the canal, 
as the width adopted was forty feet, and the depth four 
feet. Although Mr. Hawley's plan of an inclined plane was 
chimerical (being that for the advocacy of which Gouverneur 
Morris has been ridiculed, and which Thos. Eddy declared 
to have for a while impeded the policy of internal improve- 
ment), the dimensions which he proposed were most conso- 
nant with the immensity of the object, as is manifest now 
from the necessity of enlarging the canal. 

M It appears as if the Author of Nature, in forming Lake 
Erie, with its large head of water, into a reservoir, and the 
limestone ridge into an inclined plane," said Mr. Hawley, 
" had in prospect a large canal to connect the Atlantic and 
continental seas, to be completed at some period by the in- 
genuity and industry of man." With reference to the recom- 
mendations of President Jefferson (in a message in 1807) 
concerning roads and canals, Mr. Hawley continued — " Next 
to the utility of a national institute is the improvement of 
the navigation of our fresh waters, and connecting the waters 
of Lake Erie and those of the Mohawk and Hudson by 
means of a canal. As this project is probably not more than 
twelve months old in human conception, none but imperfect 
data can be furnished at present. The navigation of the four 
largest lakes in the world, with all their tributary streams, 
and the products of all the surrounding country, would pass 
through this canal ; and even the fifth (Ontario) would be- 
some its tributary — and in twenty years the principal and 
interest of the expenditure would be redeemed," Then, 
glancing at the inevitable results of such a system success- 
r ully prosecuted, Mr. H. remarked that " The City of New- 
York would be left without a competitor in trade, except by 
that of New-Orleans ; and within a century its island would 
be covered with buildings — Albany would be necessitated to 
sut down her hills and fill her valleys to give spread to her 
population — the harbour of Buffalo would exchange her for- 
3st for a thicket of marine spars — and Utica, if made the 
3oint of junction [of the proposed canal and the Mohawk 
River], would become a distinguished inland town." Ro- 
chester was not then in existence. 



192 SKETCHES OP ROCHESTER, ETC. 

Congress referred the subject of internal improvements 
(mentioned in the President's Message) to Albert Gallatin, 
then secretary of the treasury — and in March, 1808, a 
report was received by that body from Mr. G., which, 
though referring to many routes susceptible of improvement, 
made no reference to a canal from Erie towards the Hudson 
among those projects which he considered as deserving the 
patronage of the national government, under the suggestion 
for " appropriating all the surplus revenue of the United 
States to constructing free canals and turnpike-roads." 

But the suggestions of President Jefferson respecting in- 
ternal improvements fell not unheeded on the New-York 
Legislature. On the 4th of February, 1808, Joshua For- 
man, of Onondaga, instigated, as he says, not by the sugges- 
tions of either Gouverneur Morris or Jesse Hawley, but solely 
by the article on canals in Rees's Cyclopedia, and by the rec- 
ommendations of Mr. Jefferson on the general policy of in- 
creasing the facilities of communication, presented to the As- 
sembly, of which he was a member, the following preamble 
and resolution : — 

" Whereas the President of the United States, by his 
message to Congress delivered at their meeting in October 
last, did recommend that the surplus money in the Treasury, 
over and above such sums as could be applied to the extin- 
guishment of the national debt, be appropriated to the great 
national objects of opening canals and making turnpike- 
roads : And whereas the State of New- York, holding the 
first commercial rank in the United States, possesses within 
herself the best route of communication between the Atlan- 
tic and western waters, by means of a canal between the 
tidewaters of the Hudson River and Lake Erie, through 
which the wealth and trade of that large portion of the Uni- 
ted States bordering on the upper lakes would for ever flow 
to our great commercial emporium : And whereas the le- 
gislatures of several of our sister states have made great 
exertions to secure to their own states the trade of that 
widely-extended country west of the Alleganies, under nat- 
ural advantages vastly inferior to those of this state : And 
whereas it is highly important that those advantages should, 
as speedily as possible, be improved, both to preserve and 
increase the commercial and national importance of this 
state : — Resolved (if the honourable the Senate concur 
herein), that a joint committee be appointed to take into 
consideration the propriety of exploring and causing an ac- 



PROGRESS OP IMPROVEMENT. 198 

curate survey to be made of the most eligible and direct 
route for a canal to open a communication between the tide- 
waters of the Hudson River and Lake Frie, to the end that 
Congress may be enabled to appropriate such sums as may 
be necessary to the accomplishment of that great national 
object."* 

This was the first legislative movement with reference to 
a communication like the present canal between the Hudson 
and Lake Erie. 

The Senate concurred with the Assembly in appointing 
the joint committee proposed by Mr. Forman ; and the sur- 
veyor-general was directed, by a subsequent resolution which 
that committee introduced, to cause some surveys to be 
made. But, from the phraseology of this last resolution 
respecting the route or routes to be surveyed ; from the 
scanty (we had almost said contemptible) pittance voted to 
defray expenses of the survey ; and from the instructions of 
the surveyor-general to the engineer (Geddes) who was 
employed to make examinations, it does not seem that 
there was any very serious expectation that the route sug- 
gested by Mr. Forman's proposition would be examined in 
any manner suitable to its extent, or which could form the 
basis of efficient legislative action. 

Observe the language of the resolution instructing the 
surveyor-general, and the instructions from that officer to the 
engineer authorized to make the examinations — and how 
illy fitted they were to encourage the grand design for which 
Hawley, Ellicott, and Forman were struggling. The reso- 
lution directed the surveyor-general " to cause an accurate 
survey to be made of the rivers, streams, and waters (not 
already accurately surveyed) in the usual route of commu- 
nication between the Hudson River and Lake Erie, and such 
other contemplated route as he may deem proper, and cause 

* " The proposition was received by the House ' with such expres- 
sions of surprise and ridicule as are due to a very wild or foolish pro- 
ject.' It was fortunately, however, firmly sustained by the proposer 
and his friends ; and finally sanctioned, upon the ground ' that it could 
do no harm, and might do some good.' But the joint committee, pre- 
possessed in favour of the Oswego [or Ontario] route, directed the 
surveyor-general to cause a survey of the rivers, streams, and waters 
on the usual route between the Hudson River and Lake Erie, and such 
other route as he might deem proper — shifting to the surveyor-general 
the responsibility of countenancing a project deemed absurd. Six hun- 
dred dollars only could be procured for the exploration." — Gordon. 

17 



194 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

the same to be delineated on charts or maps for that pur- 
pose, accompanying the same with the elevations of the 
route and such explanatory notes as may be necessary for 
all useful information in the premises." 

Pursuant to the authority granted by this resolution, the 
surveyor-general addressed James Geddes thus : 

" Sir — I have appointed you to make the surveys and take 
the levels requisite to carry into execution the views ex- 
pressed by the concurrent resolutions of the Senate and 
Assemby of the 21st of March last, in regard to a commu- 
nication by canals between Lake Erie and Hudson's River. 
As the provision made for the expenses of this business is 
not adequate to the effectual exploring of the country for 
this purpose, you will in the first place examine what may 
appear to be the best place for a canal from Oneida Lake 
to Lake Ontario, in the town of Mexico, and take a survey 
and level of it ; also, whether a canal cannot be made be- 
tween the Oneida Lake and Oswego by a route in part to 
the west of the Oswego River, so as to avoid those parts 
along it where it will be impracticable to make a good navi- 
gation. The next object will be the ground between Lake 
Erie and Lake Ontario, which must be examined with a view 
to determine what will be the most eligible track for a canal 
from below the Niagara Falls to Lake Erie. If your means 
will admit of it, it would be a desirable thing to have a level 
taken throughout the whole distance between the two lakes. 
As Mr. Joseph Ellicott has given me a description of the 
country from the Tonnewanta Creek to the Genesee River, 
and pointed out a route for a canal through that tract, it is 
of importance to have the continuation of it explored to the 
Seneca River. No levelling or survey of it will be necessary 
for the present It must be left as a work by itself, to be 
undertaken hereafter, should the government deem it neces- 
sary. A view of the ground only, with such information as 
may be obtained from others, is all that can now be required 
of you. 

" Simeon De Witt, Surv. Gen. 

"June 11, 1808." 

So that, after all, the main point of Judge Forman's reso- 
lution, " a canal between the tide-waters of the Hudson 
River and Lake Erie," was made every way a secondary 
matter in the surveys which were directed in consequence 
of the introduction of that resolution. 



PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT. 195 

The allusion of the surveyor-general to Joseph Ellicott 
may excuse the introduction here of some extracts, which 
show how zealously the latter personage advocated, at an 
early period, the practicability and expediency of the " in- 
terior" or " overland" route between the Hudson and Lake 
Erie, as distinguished from the route through Ontario and 
around the Falls of Niagara. 

In addition to the information derived from Mr. Ellicott 
by the surveyor-general, and acknowledged in the letter of 
instructions to Mr. Geddes under date of the 11th of June, 
1808, Mr. De Witt, on the 13th of June, wrote to Mr. E., re- 
questing more " detailed information" " in regard to the 
practicability of cutting the contemplated canal." From 
among the papers of Mr. Ellicott the following has been 
taken, as illustrative of the inquiries instituted and the lively 
interest with which the writer examined questions on which 
few men at the time were so well qualified to speak : — 

" S. De Witt, Esq., Albany : 

" Dear Sir — I herewith acknowledge the receipt of your 
letter of the 13th of June, on the subject of canals and inland 
lock navigation, to connect the waters of Lake Erie and the 
Hudson River, in which you have requested me to furnish 
you with such information as I may possess on the subject, 
together with my opinion of the most eligible route for the 
canal. This task I shall perform with pleasure ; because I 
consider it an object of vast importance to the United States, 
which may be effected with a small expense, comparatively 
speaking, when contrasted with the immense advantages 
and utility that will be derived to all that tract of country 
bordering on the great lakes. I shall consider this subject 
under the following heads : 

** First — in regard to the route along the declivity that is 
supposed to have originally formed the great Falls of Niag- 
ara to Mud Creek : 

" Second — in regard to the route down the Niagara to 
Lake Ontario, and from thence to the Oneida Lake : and, 

M Thirdly — the Tonnewanta Route [from Lake Erie] to 
Mud Creek. 

[The first and third of these projected routes were held 
i in consideration till the year 1820, when the canal commis- 
1 sioners finally decided on adopting the route nearly corre- 
i sponding with the first mentioned. . The quantity of deep 



196 SKETCHES OP ROCHESTER, ETC. 

and hard cutting requisite oh the first route seemed an almost 
insuperable objection with Mr. Ellicott, who, on the other 
hand, expatiated on the feasibility of the Tonnewanta route. 
His views of the Tonnewanta valley present some points 
which render them interesting in several respects, especially 
as that route has since been adopted for a railroad from 
Rochester through Batavia to Buffalo. An extract is given, 
the letter being too long for insertion here.] 

" The most practicable and useful path for this canal, in 
my opinion, would be the Tonnewanta route to Mud Creek. 
The mouth of the Tonnewanta affords a convenient harbour 
either for the largest vessels that navigate all the upper 
lakes, or for such boats as would be made use of for navi- 
gating the canal. The tract of country it would pass through 
from Niagara River or Lake Erie to the Genesee River is 
probably the most level, even, and horizontal of any other 
tract of equal extent in the United States ; and I am per- 
suaded that it would not be necessary to deviate much on 
account of either ridges or rocks, but that the canal might 
be actually extended nearly as straight as the delineation 
exhibited by the enclosed plan. As, however, the compar- 
ative advantages of the route I have mentioned may be 
questioned, it may perhaps be necessary to give a short 
sketch of the nature and face of the country I have proposed 
for this important communication. It will be observed, on 
inspecting the maps of the country between the Niagara and 
Genesee, that in the proposed route by the Tonnewanta and 
Black Creek, it will be necessary to direct the canal to run in 
the same latitudinal direction ; the course of which is owing 
to the circumstance of these waters being confined between 
two terraces supported by horizontal strata of rocks. The 
first or northern terrace extends across the Niagara above 
Lewiston, forming the great Falls of Niagara, and continues 
eastwardly, forming, also, the falls on the Oak Orchard 
Creek, the Genesee River, Gerundegut, and Oswego, &c. 
The second or southern terrace crosses the Niagara River at 
Black Rock, forming the rapids at the outlet of Lake Erie — 
extends eastwardly, forming falls on the Four Mile Creek, 
Allen's Creek, Honeoye Creek, Ellicott's Creek, Sulphur 
Creek, Tonnewanta Creek, Mud Creek, Seneca Falls on 
the outlet of Seneca Lake, &c. The district of country be- 
tween these terraces from Niagara to Genesee River is al- 



PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT. 197 

most one horizontal level ; and from the appearance of the 
beds of the different streams of water, as far as they pass 
through this tract of country, I am led to believe it is entirely 
free from ledges of rocks or stone — these watercourses 
being deep, without even a stone to ruffle their current as 
far as they are confined to the valley. The depth of water 
at the mouth of Tonnewanta Creek is from 26 to 30 feet ; 
whereas the Niagara River a little to the north of Navy Is- 
land may be fathomed by a ten or twelve foot pole — the bot- 
tom of the river being a horizontal strata of rocks extending 
eastward — which I believe to be the southern extremity of 
the lower or northern terrace of horizontal strata of rocks. 
It will also be observed, that where the Four Mile Creek 
empties into the Niagara River below Black Rock, the mouth 
of the creek is from fifteen to eighteen feet in depth. Thence 
I conclude that the northern extremity of the upper or southern 
terrace of horizontal strata of rocks terminates near the 
mouth of this creek, leaving a tract or valley extending east- 
wardly to the Genesee River, between these terraces from 
north to south, of from seven to ten and a half miles in 
breadth, entirely free from ledges of rock or stone ; and I have 
always been led to believe, from the knowledge I possess of 
this part of the state, that the same disposition of country 
prevails from the Genesee to the Onondaga River, which, for 
a considerable portion of that distance, is equally as horizon^- 
tal and as free from ledges of rock as the tract of country 
below the southern terrace west of the Genesee River — 
Mud Creek, part of the Onondaga [Oswego] River, and the 
Oneida Lake, all lying in the same latitudinal direction, and 
probably between the same terraces or horizontal strata of 
rocks. 

" The tract of country extending from the Niagara to the 
Genesee along the path I have marked for the canai may be 
considered a valley for the whole distance, the country 
gradually rising to the southward, and also to the northward, 
until we arrive at the declivity or descent which is supposed 
originally formed the great Falls of Niagara. It is the opin- 
ion of many that at some remote period the waters from the 
Niagara River flowed down this valley to the eastward, and 
that part of the waters of Lake Erie were disembogued down 
the cataract from Oak Orchard Creek, as well as down that 
of the Genesee by way of Black Creek, until the bed of Ni- 
agara River became so much deepened as to discharge all 
17* 



198 SKETCHES OP ROCHESTER, ETC. 

the water through its channel. These are, however, but 
speculative opinions, which I only mention to evince that the 
tract of country is remarkable for its horizontal position. 

*' I profess to have a pretty accurate knowledge of this 
tract of country as far as it extends through the Holland 
Purchase, both from observations and surveys, and allot- 
ments we have made ; and it appears to me that nature 
seems to have pointed out this route for a canal, not only in 
consequence of the little labour, comparatively speaking, 
that would be required in digging it, but because the neces- 
sary materials for the construction of locks are close at 
hand. Oak Orchard Creek is navigable for large boats from 
where it would be intersected by the canal to the horizontal 
stratum of rocks that forms its first cataract, being, as is 
supposed, the same stratum that forms the Falls of Niagara 
and Genesee. At this place any quantity of the best shaped 
limestone may be procured, lying in horizontal strata of al- 
most any superficial dimensions, and between 6, 10, and 12 
inches in thickness, which might be conveyed thence in 
boats for the construction of locks or other purposes ; and 
almost everywhere, as far as the canal would extend through 
the Holland Purchase, a little to the northward of the route 
I have laid down, stone of the same kind may be obtained, 
and also at the Genesee River at the upper cataract. 

" The number of locks that might be required between 
the Niagara and Genesee Rivers I have not the requisite in- 
formation to ascertain, not knowing the difference in elevation 
of the beds of the respective rivers Niagara and Genesee 
above the water in Lake Ontario, or how much Oak Or- 
chard Creek (where it would be intersected by this canal) is 
elevated above either the Niagara or Genesee Rivers. I am, 
however, clearly of opinion that Oak Orchard Creek may 
be considered the crown level ; as it meanders through the 
same piece of lowland or swamp (called the Tonnewanta 
Swamp) from which Tonnewanta and Black Creek receive 
part of their waters, as will be observed by the map here- 
with forwarded. And here 1 cannot omit mentioning a re- 
markable fact relative to this valley of country, which is, 
that in the early part of the spring season, on the dissolv- 
ing of the snow, when all the lowlands are covered with 
water, if it were not for the obstruction of bushes and 
fallen timbers, a canoe might be navigated from the Niagara 
River up the waters of the Tonnewanta Creek (by the way 



PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT. 199 

of Oak Orchard and Black Creeks) to the Genesee River, 
being the same path I have delineated on the enclosed plan 
for the canal. This circumstance, together with other ob- 
servations I have made upon the horizontal formation of the 
country, with the path I have delineated, induces me to be- 
lieve that at most two locks at A [referring to the map sent 
herewith], with each 8 or 9 feet lifts, would be sufficient 
to navigate the canal, and that there would be no other lock 
required until the canal began to descend Black Creek ; 
and from the best information I can obtain, six locks each 8 
or 10 feet lifts would be found sufficient to navigate a boat 
from thence to the navigable waters of Black Creek commu- 
nicating with Genesee river. 

" Another advantage that this route possesses, is the great 
facility with which the eanal may be supplied with water. 
Oak Orchard Creek, which is sufficiently large in the driest 
season for turning an undershot mill, will intersect the canal 
on the crown level. Tonnewanta and Allen's Creeks, both 
of which take their rise above the upper or southern terrace, 
may be conveyed to this canal at a small expense, and Ton- 
newanta in particular in several places at an expense less 
than 3000 dollars. There are also many small streams 
that flow in the valley both from the north and south of the 
canal, which might be used for that purpose." * * * 

" Mr. Ellicott here proceeds to make a detailed estimate 
of the expense of the canal from the Niagara or Lake Erie 
to Genesee River, and from Genesee River to the navigable 
waters of Mud Creek ; and also to give at large the reasons 
why this route had altogether the preference over the lake 
route by Oswego," &c, says Micah Brooks, to whose 
researches we are indebted for these extracts from docu- 
ments which have long lain unnoticed among the papers of 
Mr. Ellicott at Batavia. " The original letters of Mr. Elli- 
cott to the surveyor-general were in the hands of the canal 
commissioners, who took them from Albany with them in 
travelling westward, and left them probably at Mr. Ellicott's 
residence in Batavia, where they spent some days with him, 
as I am informed. Mr. Ellicott concluded his argument in 
favour of canalling through the overland route, by de- 
claring his conviction that it ' would more eminently con- 
tribute to the benefit of the nation than any other undertaking 
of the kind in any other part of the United States.' The 
date of these letters, to which so much importance was pub- 



200 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER ETC. 

licV a * ached by Surveyor-General De Witt and Mr. Ged- 
des at the time, should not be forgotten — it was in the sum- 
mer of 1808." 

Among some manuscripts in our possession, for use, per- 
haps, in another work, there is a statement by General Brooks 
concerning other early movements on the canal question, from 
which we may quote here a few passages illustrative of 
the exertions of Jesse Hawley and Joseph Ellicott in origi- 
nating and supporting the canal policy, and the coldness 
with which that policy was viewed at the time by some of 
the most prominent men who afterward rendered essential 
service in carrying it into effect : 

" In addition to the statements of Judge Howell and Mr. 
Myron Holley respecting the authorship of the numbers of 
' Hercules' which first proposed the overland route for the 
canal from Lake Erie to the Hudson," says General Brooks, 
" I may state that it was while Mr. Jesse Hawley was cor- 
recting the proof-sheet of one of those numbers in the Gen- 
esee Messenger Office in Canandaigua in 1807, that I was 
introduced to him, and learned that he was the author of 
those important essays. The subject produced some con- 
versation between us, and thenceforward I took a decided 
interest in favour of the mighty enterprise. In the fall of 
1808, when about to leave Ontario county for Albany, to 
take a seat in the assembly, I borrowed from Mr. Hawley 
a file of the Genesee Messenger, containing the essays un- 
der the signature of ' Hercules,' as mentioned in his letter to 
Dr. Hosack ; and in conversation with Mr. H., agreed to 
call during the winter on Governor Tompkins, De Witt 
Clinton, John Taylor, Simeon De Witt, and others, for the 
purpose of inviting their attention to the project boldly ad- 
vanced in those papers. 

" On my arrival in Albany, I lost no time in executing my 
intentions. I called on Gov. Tompkins with the papers, 
and explained the object : he expressed a strong desire to 
investigate the subject, but remarked that his executive du- 
ties would not allow him time for the purpose during the 
session of the legislature. I next called on Mr. Clinton and 
Mr. Taylor, neither of whom took any interest in the sub- 
ject or expressed a desire to peruse the papers which were 
proffered for their consideration. This was a time of much 
political excitement, in which the feelings of Mr. Clinton 
were deeply involved. I next called on Simeon De Witt, 



PROGRESS OP IMPROVEMENT. 201 

the surveyor-general, who requested me to leave the essays 
with him, saying that he would examine them at his earliest 
leisure. In conversation with Mr. De Witt concerning the 
projected canal route, he told me that he had received a 
number of letters from Mr. Joseph Ellicott, agent of the 
Holland Land Company ; and that Mr. E. had gone so far 
as to trace a practicable route from Lake Erie to Genesee 
River, with the assurance likewise that it could be extended 
through Ontario county to the Seneca River — Mr. De Witt 
meanwhile tracing on a map the line proposed by Mr. Elli- 
cott for the canal. Mr. De Witt further stated that, at that 
time, Mr. Geddes was engaged in exploring the route 
through the county of Ontario. I left the essays of Mr. 
Hawley with the surveyor-general. * * * * Anxious 
to render myself familiar with further information from one 
so well qualified to impart it — qualified alike by his abilities 
as a surveyor, by his particular knowledge of the country, 
and by his powerful intellect, I went to see Mr. Ellicott at 
Batavia, soon after my return from Albany, for the sole pur- 
pose of inquiring on a subject wherein my feelings were ac- 
tively enlisted. ' The practicability of the plan is with me 
beyond doubt,' he said, adding, in his usual emphatic man- 
ner, ' I know the fact.'' He farther added that the cost of 
the whole route of the canal could easily be calculated, 
and at the same time named a sum that it would probably 
cost. * * * Thus, simultaneously with the labours of 
Mr. Hawley through the press, we find that Mr. Ellicott 
(the enterprising pioneer of the forest, the able engineer, and 
the practical operator) was zealously engaged in bringing 
to view the then undiscovered part of the proposed canal 
route. The exertions of this bold spirit did not stop here ; 
and we are to presume that it was his influence that obtained 
the donation from the Holland Land Company (as early as 
1813) of the 100,000 acres of land to aid the state in effect- 
ing the contemplated improvements." 

The examinations of Mr. Geddes were, in accordance 
with his instructions, chiefly devoted to the Oswego or On- 
tario route — the course indicated by Messrs. Hawley and 
Ellicott, and contemplated by Judge Forman, being consid- 
ered of a secondary character, although its practicability 
was pretty well established by the information from Mr. El- 
licott introduced in the report of Mr. G. along with his own 
actual survey of the Irondequoit Valley. Speaking of " an 



202 SKETCHES OP ROCHESTER, ETC. 

interior route without passing through Lake Ontario," Mr. 
Geddes said, in the third branch of his Report in 1809, 
" This route is proposed from the Oneida Lake along the 
track at present pursued by the navigation to the Cayuga 
Marshes ; thence up the valley of Mud Creek, and across 
the country to the Genesee River ; thence up Black Creek 
to the Tonnewanta Swamp, and down the Tonnewanta Creek 
to Niagara River, and up the same to Lake Erie." [Mr. 
Geddes here noticed only the route proposed by Mr. Elli- 
cott between Genesee River and Lake Erie.] " If the fer- 
tile country around these lakes and rivers, which would be 
immediately benefited by this work," he added, "should 
alone be of sufficient importance to cause it to be done in a 
complete and perfect manner as far west as the Cayuga, 
then the continuance of the interior route and the route 
through Lake Ontario may be more easily compared by 
considering the Ontario route to start at Three-river Point, 
and the interior route from the Cayuga Marshes" — the 
route between Three-river Point (on the Oswego River) and 
the Hudson River being common to the trade to and from 
the two routes reaching towards the great lakes. " From 
the Cayuga Marshes to Black-Rock," at the foot of Lake 
Erie, says Mr. Geddes in his report, " is 109 miles, meas- 
ured in a direct line on a map. Almost everything respect- 
ing this space has been supplied by conjectures formed from 
appearances on the map. The summit between Tonne- 
wanta Creek and Black Creek [which creeks interlock be- 
tween Genesee River and Lake Erie — the first running 
westward and the other eastward], is an extensive level of 
wet land called the Tonnewanta Swamp ; and is estimated 
by Judge Ellicott at only 20 feet or so above the level of the 
mouth of the Tonnewanta Creek [at Niagara River]. If 
so, the said summit is scarcely ten feet above the level of 
Lake Erie. It is stated that, by means of Oak Orchard 
Creek and other streams that can be commanded, there will 
be a sufficient supply of water for said summit, and that a; 
canal the greater part of the way may be made almost 
straight, and the cutting very easy." 

The Report of Mr. Geddes, from which these extracts are 
taken, was submitted to the Legislature by the surveyor- 
general in 1809. The language above quoted shows that 
Mr. G. relied mainly on the testimony of Mr. Ellicott re- 
specting the practicability of canalling between Lake Erie I 



PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT. 203 

and the Genesee River, not having then examined that por- 
tion of the proposed route. But from Genesee River east- 
ward to the waters of Mud Creek running into Seneca 
River, Mr. Geddes made some important surveys and ob- 
servations, touching the practicability of overcoming the for- 
midable obstacles presented by the Irondequoit Valley, &c. 
" After spending the money and summer of that year (1808) 
in examinations between Lakes Erie and Ontario, Mud 
Creek and Sodus Bay, Oneida Lake and Ontario, &c, the 
spot of great difficulty and uncertainty respecting our inland 
route remained unexamined, to wit: the tract between Gen- 
esee River and Palmyra, or head waters of Mud Creek, and 
the hopes from a view of the maps discouraging indeed," 
says Mr. Geddes in a letter written in 1822. " Where was 
the water to be got for locking over the high land that was 
supposed to rise between Genesee River and Mud Creek 1 
All knowledge of an interior route was incomplete while 
this piece of country remained unknown. In December of 
that year (1808) I again left home for the above object ; 
and after discovering at the west end of Palmyra that sin- 
gular brook which divides, running part to Oswego and part 
to Irondequoit Bay, I levelled from this spot to the Genesee 
River, and to my great joy and surprise found the level of 
the river far elevated above the spot where the brooks part- 
ed, and no high land between. But to make the Genesee 
River run down Mud Creek, it must be got over the Ironde- 
quoit Valley. After levelling from my first line 1| miles 
up the valley, I found the place where the canal is taken [by 
an embankment and culvert] across that stream. This for- 
midable obstruction I examined, levelling over where the 
canal is now made. * * * * The passage of the Iron- 
dequoit Valley is on a surface not surpassed perhaps in the 
world for singularity," &c. " While traversing these snowy 
hills in December, 1808, I little thought of ever seeing the 
Genesee waters crossing the valley on the embankment," 
&c. 

Judge Forman, in consequence of (though not in full ac- 
cordance with) whose resolution the surveys or examinations 
were undertaken, says, under date of 1828, in reviewing the 
canal operations, " The Report of Judge Geddes in Canal 
Documents, vol. i., p. 13 to 38, proving beyond a doubt 
the practicability of a canal on the interior route, and put- 
ting at rest all farther question of the one through Lake On- 



204 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

tario, came in during the session of 1803-9, and rendered 
the project of such a canal, as a feasible one, familiar to a great 
body of the men of intelligence in the state. The Board of 
Commissioners appointed under Gen. Piatt's resolution of 
the ensuing session, took this report from the office of the 
surveyor-general,* and with it in their hands explored the 
route there designated ; and satisfied with his examination, 
never caused any surveys with a view to the Ontario route 
— and the surveys and plans of the Boyle [Penfield] summit 
and Gerundegut embankment, comparing exactly with the 
canal as now excavated, establish incontestibly its identity as 
the first stage of that splendid work which reflects so much I 
credit upon the state and nation. Judge, then, my surprise I 
(when, after the middle section was completed, all opposition I 
having ceased, both parties were contending which should 1 
gain popularity by forwarding the canal policy, and a scram- ■ 
file had commenced for the credit of originating the measure) ) 
to see it stated by Ferris Pell in his Review, p. 177, that a i 
resolution introduced by me in 1808, ' was adopted and re- • 
suited in nothing.' " 

Nothing further was done by the legislature in reference 3 
to the proposed connexion between the Hudson and the 3 
lakes until the following year (1810), when Thomas Eddy,, 
the indefatigable friend of improvement, whose exertions aree 
already noticed in connexion with the Inland Lock Naviga- 
tion Companies, had a consultation with Jonas Piatt of thee 
Senate, which resulted in a determination of the latter too 
propose a resolution (which passed both branches of thee 
legislature) for appointing seven " commissioners to explores 
the whole route for inland navigation from the Hudson Riven 
to Lake Ontario and to Lake Erie." Gouverneur Morris^ 
Stephen Van Rensselaer, De Witt Clinton, Simeon De Witty j 
William North, Thomas Eddy, and Peter B. Porter were 
the commissioners appointed. 

It was in support of this measure that De Witt Clinton, 
then a Senator, first publicly advocated the canal policy. 
Judge Piatt and Mr. Eddy having previously called upon 
him to solicit his support for the proposition. Some remarks 

* The commissioners likewise had with them the essays of Mr. Haw- 
ley and the letters of Mr. Ellicott ; and, as before stated, it was th< 
calculations of Mr. Ellicott that Mr. Geddes and Surveyor-Genera 
De Witt mainly relied on for all their calculations west of Genesee 
River, as shown in their own statements. 



PROGRESS OP IMPROVEMENT. 205 

made by Judge Piatt upon this interesting portion of our 

1 canal history are worthy of notice in this connexion. Re- 

i ferring to the consultation between Mr. Eddy and himself, 

I in which they planned the resolution just mentioned, Judge 

P. says : 

" Mr. Eddy and myself then designated for commission- 
; ers Gouverneur Morris, De Witt Clinton, Stephen Van Rens- 
: selaer, Simeon De Witt, Benjamin Walker, Peter B. Porter, 
: and Thomas Eddy. Our object was to balance the oppo- 
: sing political parties as nearly as possible, and to combine 
; talents, influence, and wealth in constituting this board ; and 
; as De Witt Clinton was then a member of the Senate, pos- 
■ sessing a powerful influence over the dominant party in the 
, state, it was considered by Mr. Eddy and myself of primary 
I importance to obtain his co-operation. We accordingly re- 
quested an interview with Mr. Clinton, and unfolded to him 
our plan, and the prominent facts and considerations in sup- 
, port of it ; and I distinctly remember that, in showing him 
. the names of the persons we had proposed as commission- 
ers, I stated to Mr. Clinton that we had selected men of 
: wealth and public spirit, with an expectation that they would 
: bestow their time and services without compensation ; so 
, that we might then only ask an appropriation for the expenses 
; of the engineers and surveyors who were to be employed 
by the commissioners. 

" Mr. Clinton listened to us with intense interest and deep 
: agitation of mind. He then said that he was in a great 
measure a stranger to the western interior of our state; that 
: he had given but little attention to the subject of canal navi- 
i gation, but that the exposition of our plan struck his mind 
with great force ; that he was then prepared to say that it 
was an object worthy of thorough examination ; and that if I 
= would move the resolution in blank (without the names of 
the commissioners), he would second and support it. 
, "Stephen Van Rensselaer and Abraham Van Vechten 
were then members of the House of Assembly. I immedi- 
ately called on them, and showed them the proposed resolu- 
i tion, and the names intended to be inserted in it as commis- 
sioners. They heartily assented to it, and promised to aid 
I its passage in the Assembly ; but Mr. Van Rensselaer re- 
quested that his friend William North might be added as a 
commissioner, or substituted for one of the others. I then 
went to the senate chamber, and moved the resolution of the 

18 



206 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

12th March, 1810 (as the journal will show), with an intro- 
ductory speech. Mr. Clinton seconded and supported it ; 
and the resolution (in blank) was unanimously agreed to. 
Next morning, I moved to insert the names of Gouverneur 
Morris, De Witt Clinton, Stephen Van Rensselaer, Simeon 
De Witt, William North, Peter B. Porter, and Thomas Ed- 
dy,* who were unanimously agreed to in the Senate, and the 
concurrent resolution was, on the same day, unanimously 
adopted in the Assembly." 

*' From that period Mr. Clinton devoted the best powers 
of his vigorous and capacious mind to this subject ; and he 
appeared to grasp and realize it as an object of the highest 
public utility, and worthy of his noblest ambition." 

The commissioners explored the proposed route from the 
Hudson to Lake Erie in the summer of 1810; and made 
their first report to the legislature in 1811. This document 
was prepared by Mr. Morris, as president of the board ; and 
" proposed a project which, although the signatures of all the 
commissioners were attached, was entertained seriously by 
no other member of the board." This project, proposed 
originally by Jesse Hawley, " was to bring the waters of the 
lake, on one continued uninterrupted plane, with an inclina- 
tion of six inches in every mile, to a basin to be formed near 
the margin of the Hudson, from whence there was to be a 
descent by a great number of locks. This project was 
thought by many to be impracticable ; and its having been 
presented as a plan which the commissioners recommended, 
was calculated to retard the enterprise ; but the report bears 
testimony to the genius and the eloquence of the writer." — 
(Colden.) 

This report was promptly followed by the passage of a 
bill increasing the number of commissioners by adding Rob- 
ert R. Livingston and Robert Fulton ; referring to them all 
matters concerning the navigation between the Hudson and 
the lakes ; authorizing them to apply to other states and 
to the national government for co-operation and aid ; to 
ascertain whether loans could be procured, and to negotiate 

* Such was the excellent character of this unostentatious Friend, that 
his biographer (for Colonel Knapp has lately published a volume about 
Thomas Eddy) considers his exertions for the physical improvement of 
the state — and they were sufficient to merit the lasting gratitude of his 
countrymen — as of minor importance when compared with his efforts 
for the moral welfare of the human race ; efforts which rendered him 
well worthy of the name of "the Howard of America." 



PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT. 207 

with the Inland Lock Navigation Companies for a surrender 
of their rights and interests. This bill was introduced by 
Mr. Clinton, and gave earnest of the zeal with which he af- 
terward laboured in the cause of internal improvement. 

"In the Report of 1811," says Mr. Jesse Hawley, the 
sanal commissioners "embraced several leading points which 
I had advanced in my essays, viz. : of its being a national 
cork, and proposing to construct it on an inclined plane. 
The former they applied to Congress for, but failed to obtain. 
The latter, as from Buffalo to Albany, was found impracti- , 
jable, owing to the great elevation of the hills at the Little * 
Falls on the Mohawk River. I never heard that, under 
hese circumstances, Mr. Morris made any claim to the 
)riginal idea of the overland route. I believe Mr. Morris, 
f alive, would say for himself that his first idea was the 
Lake Route, and the locking up of the falls of Niagara into 
>ake Erie. Such was decidedly the idea of Messrs. Gal- 
alin, Porter, and Woodward, who wrote on the subject after 
', had written ; and in which Judge Woodward (of Michi- 
gan) was very tenacious, terming the overland route, then 
inder discussion, a short-sighted and selfish policy in New- 
fork." 

Pursuant to the law, and in accordance with feelings ex- 
ited by the language of Mr. Jefferson and Mr. Gallatin in 
.807-8, respecting appropriations from the national revenue 
or encouraging internal improvements, the canal commis- 
ioners promptly applied to the federal government for as- 
istance. In December, 1811, President Madison transmit- 
ed to Congress the application, accompanied by these 
imong other remarks : — 

" The utility of canal navigation is universally admitted, 
t is no less certain that scarcely any country offers more 
xtensive opportunities for that branch of improvement than 
he United States ; and none, perhaps, inducements equally 
>ersuasive to make the most of them. The particular un- 
lertaking contemplated by the State of New-York, which 
narks an honourable spirit of enterprise, and comprises ob- 
ects of national as well as more limited importance, will 
ecall the attention of Congress to the signal advantages to 
■ie derived to the United States from a general system of in- 
ernal communication and conveyance, and suggest to their 
onsideration whatever steps may be proper on their part 
Dwards its introduction and accomplishment. As some of 
hose advantages have an intimate connexion with the ar, 



208 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

rangements and exertions for the general security, it is at a 
period (the eve of war) calling for those that the merits of 
such a system will be seen in the strongest lights." 

Gouverneur Morris and De Witt Clinton, who were depu- 
ted by the Canal Commissioners, attended at the seat of the 
general government for the purpose of procuring its aid. In 
the month of January, 1812, they appeared before a com- • 
mittee of the House of Representatives, consisting of a mem- • 
ber from each state; and " Mr. Morris made a grand and 
luminous exposition of his views in relation to the Erie 
Canal and several other similar projects in various parts of 
the United States," says Hermanus Bleecker. But this ap- 
peal to Congress, like another at a subsequent period, was i 
wholly fruitless. 

The commissioners likewise addressed the several states. 
Favourable answers were received from Massachusetts and 
Tennessee ; New-Jersey was indifferent to the project, hav- 
ing projects more connected with her own interests ; Con- 
necticut deemed the measure inexpedient, but left her dele- 
gates in Congress to act at their discretion ; Vermont approved 
the proposed measure. The territorial government of Mich- 
igan, by the then secretary, Mr. Woodward, made a long re- 
ply, objecting to the route, and urging adherence to the lake 
navigation by a lockage of the Niagara and Oswego Falls ; pre- 
ferring on all accounts the natural instead of an artificial route. 

In replying to the inquiry whether Ohio would participate 
in the expense, as she would enjoy the benefits of the pro- 
posed communication between the lakes and the seaboard, 
the Legislature of that state answered by resolution, substan- 
tially, that " we had her best wishes ; that she knew very 
well she would be greatly benefited if our enterprise should 
be executed, but that she was well assured we could do it 
ourselves ; that she was very young, and not rich : she, how- 
ever, testified her disposition to serve us as far as her re- 
sources would justify, if she approved, when made known to 
her, the plan we proposed to adopt. Fortunately," continues 
Colden, " we have had no occasion to remind Ohio of this 
engagement ; and every friend of internal improvements 
must rejoice that no part of her resources have been diverted 
from the great works in which she is so nobly engaged. 
When it is considered that the population of her territory in 
1790 did not exceed 3000 souls, her canals are stronger ev- 
idence than the world has yet afforded of what can be done* 
by the moral energies of a free people, guided by wise, 



PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT. 209 

enterprising, and magnanimous counsellors. By opening a 
'channel between Lake Erie and the trans-Allegany navigable 
waters, Ohio renders us infinitely greater service than she 
could have done by any contribution to our funds. She will 
not lay out a dollar on her canals that will not be nearly of 
as much advantage to us as to herself. It would be to our 
interest to open the communication through Ohio at our own 
expense, and to let it be a free passage rather than it should 
not be done." 

The commissioners made a second report to the Legisla- 
ture in 1812, when a law was made, authorizing them to 
borrow five millions of dollars for the construction of the 
canals. But nothing important occurred on the subject till 
after the war with Great Britain was terminated, although 
'he commissioners made a report in 1814, strongly urging 
the practicability of the canals, the competency of the state 
,o undertake them, and the expediency of employing ener- 
getic measures to accomplish the proposed works. 
• " The attention of the Legislature, however, was engrossed 
oy the then existing war. In consequence of the disarrange- 
ment of the national finances," says Colden, " the State of 
New-York was obliged to employ its funds on objects which 
•oroperly belonged to the general government; and besides, 
a very considerable opposition had arisen to the improvement 
}f our inland navigation upon the great scale which the com- 
missioners had proposed. Many believed in the imprac- 
ticability of the project ; others, who admitted that it might 
be accomplished, thought the work too mighty for the power 
and resources of the state. It was also unpropitious to 
the adoption of the great design, that the friends of im- 
provements in internal navigation differed in opinion as to 
: the course which ought to be pursued ; some thinking that 
the Ontario route (which has been before explained) should 
be preferred to carrying the canal directly to Lake Erie, 
Under the influence of these feelings and opinions, the Le- 
gislature, in the session of 1814, repealed that part of the 
ihen existing law which empowered the commissioners to 
borrow five millions of dollars. However dissatisfied the 
friends of the canals were with this repeal, it has turned out 
|to be one of those measures which, though they appeared 
unpropitious at the time, we now see were most fortunate. 
The war prevented the employment of a foreign engineer, 
and the repeal in question prevented our making loans abroad, 

18* 



210 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC 

The consequence of this last measure has been, that every 
cent borrowed on account of the canals was obtained of 
our own citizens, and the interest paid to them or to foreign- 
ers who purchased the stock at an advance. Perhaps the 
war itself, discouraging as were its immediate effects, may 
be set down as one of those events which finally had a ten- 
dency to promote the commencement and execution of the 
canals. The want of a practicable communication for the 
conveyance of materials of war from the seabord to the west- 
ern frontier was grievously felt. It has been said that the 
expense of transporting cannon from Albany to the lakes was 
at one time more than double what the pieces cost. The 
postponement of the project for a few years was also for- • 
tunate, inasmuch as it brought the commencement and exe- • 
cution of it to a time when money could be more easily ob- ■ 
tained, and on better terms than it could have been at per- ■ 
haps any prior or hitherto subsequent period." 

The influences of the war, combined with the retraction i 
of the power to make loans, temporarily abated the spirit of f 
improvement to such a degree that no report was made by r 
the commissioners in 1815. 

At the close of that year, however, public feeling was ! 
measurably aroused by an animated assemblage collected in 1 
New- York City through the instrumentality of the indefati- • 
gable Thos. Eddy, Judge Piatt, Mr. Clinton, Mr. John Pin- • 
tard, and a few others. 

It was as chairman of a committee thereat appointed for l 
the purpose, that Mr. Clinton draughted the well-known doc- - 
ument known as " the New-York Memorial" — the effects of i 
which, on the people at large and on the Legislature, were 
immensely beneficial. The eloquent truths of that admirable e 
production were echoed in the petitions favouring the canal 1 
policy which poured from all quarters upon the Legislature 
at the ensuing session. 

The important movement made at New- York was chron- 
icled thus by Judge Piatt, one of the principal figures in the 
scene : — " Soon after the war ended, a consultation was held 
between Mr. Clinton, Thos. Eddy, and myself, in the City 
of New- York, for the purpose of reviving the enterprise of 
the canal, and for organizing and animating its friends 
throughout the state. It was agreed that cards of invitation 
should be addressed to about one hundred gentlemen of that 
city, to meet at the City Hotel, to consult on measures for 



PROGRESS OP IMPROVEMENT. 211 

that object. A meeting was held accordingly, in the autumn 
of 1815, of which William Bayard was chairman, and John 
, Pintard was secretary. According to previous arrangement, 
an address was made to the meeting by myself, in which I 
endeavoured to show that the object was identified with the 
best interests of the state ; and that the City of New- York 
1 was peculiarly interested in its accomplishment. In that 
1 address I also pointed at the stupendous project of a canal 
1 on an uninterrupted inclined plane, which had been unfor- 
i tunately proposed in the first report of the commissioners,* 
I and I urged the expediency of a formal and public abandon- 
i merit of that plan, for the simple mode (afterward adopted) of 
following the general surface of the country in its undula- 
• tions. After discussion, a resolution was then passed, appro- 
ving the object, and appointing a committee, consisting of De 
Witt Clinton, Thomas Eddy, Cadwallader D. Colden, and 
John Swartwout, to prepare and circulate a memorial to the 
Legislature in favour of the Erie Canal. A memorial was 
drawn and published accordingly. It was from the pen of 
: Mr. Clinton, and evinced a perfect knowledge of the subject, 
with a sagacious discernment of its beneficial results to the 
j state and nation. If Mr. Clinton had left no other evidence, 
that memorial alone is sufficient to entitle him to the char- 
acter of an accomplished writer, an enlightened statesman, 
and a zealous patriot." 

Some of the western movements in furtherance of the ca- 
nal policy are particularly worthy of notice at this point. 
On the 8th of January, 1817, a large meeting of gentlemen 
1 from most of the towns of Ontario county (which county 
1 then included part of the site of Rochester — the Genesee 
'River being the dividing line between Genesee and Ontario 
< counties) was held at Canandaigua. The proceedings of the 
1 assemblage find few parallels in the beauty of language and 
the force of reasoning. The remark is particularly applicable 
> to the resolutions draughted by Myron Holley, for several 
years a canal commissioner, and now a resident of Roches- 
1 ter. Dr. Hosack, in publishing the Ontario proceedings 
: among the documents appended to his eulogy on De Witt 
Clinton, ushers them with the following remarks : — 

" Shortly after the period of the meeting of the citizens in 

* The matter thus discountenanced was part of Jesse Hawley's plan, 
1 which had been adopted by Gouverneur Morris in the report of 181 1, and 
i to the prejudicial effects of which other references are made. 



212 SKETCHES OP ROCHESTER, ETC. 

New-York which agreed to. Mr. Clinton's celebrated memo- 
rial to the Legislature, urging that body to undertake the con- 
struction of the canal as a work of the state, Col. Troup was 
concerned with the late Gideon Granger, John Greig, John 
C. Nicholas, N. W. Howell, and several other leading gentle- 
men of Ontario county, in convening a large meeting at Can- 
andaigua, for the purpose of exciting general attention to 
the contemplated improvements, of giving a right direction 
to public opinion, and of pressing the construction of the 
canals as a work of the state. Few meetings have been 
more respectable for numbers, character, talent, and prop- 
erty. Such, indeed, had been the active exertions of Col. 
Troup, and such his weight of character and influence, that 
he was appointed chairman of the meeting. Mr. Nathaniel 
Rochester, another gentleman of great influence, and who 
has since that period filled several important public stations, 
was appointed secretary. Gideon Granger, the late post- 
master-general, addressed the meeting in a very eloquent 
and able speech, on the momentous subject for which that 
meeting had been convened. A number of important reso- 
lutions, drawn up by Myron Holley,* one of the canal 
commissioners, and distinguished for his valuable services 
throughout the whole progress of the great work which has 
been achieved, were offered by John Greig, another active 
friend and liberal contributor to the canal, and were unani- 
mously passed. These resolutions exhibited with great 
force the incalculable advantages that would necessarily 
flow from a canal navigation between Lake Erie and the 

* In a letter addressed to Col. Troup by John Greig, dated Canan- 
daigua, 21st May, 1828, he observes : "To Mr. Holley, more than any 
one else, are we indebted for that meeting, and for the popularity which 
the canal policy immediately afterward acquired in the western part of 
the state. Indeed, I have always been satisfied that his intelligence 
and zeal, and unwearied exertions both of mind and body on the subject, 
from the moment of his appointment as a canal commissioner, essen- 
tially contributed to bring the Erie Canal to a successful completion." 
The reader is referred to a letter of Mr. Holley, in this article, concern- 
ing the construction of the canal west of Seneca River. "Mr. Hol- 
ley," says Tacitus (otherwise Gov. Clinton), " was a member of the 
Legislature when the initiatory canal law was passed, which he advo- 
cated with the whole force of his talents. His mind is improved by 
reading, reflection, and conversation, and is distinguished for extensive 
research and acute discrimination. He has devoted his whole time and 
attention, mind and body, to the canal ; and some of the most luminous 
reports and communications have proceeded from his pen." 



PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT. 213 

Hudson. Of these resolutions a correspondent observes, 
' that, both in matter and style, they may justly be denom- 
inated a near relation of Mr. Clinton's memorial.' The pro- 
ceedings of this meeting, as may readily be supposed, made 
a deep impression on the public mind, and powerfully con- 
tributed to the enlightened policy which the Legislature sub- 
sequently embraced." 

The governor (Tompkins) urged the subject upon the at- 
tention of the two houses ; and the commissioners reported 
in favour of an immediate prosecution of the great western 
canal, and likewise of the proposed union of the Champlain 
with the Hudson by the northern canal. 

Notwithstanding the doubts which were boldly urged by 
some members as to the practicability of the undertaking, or 
the capacity of the state to accomplish it — doubts which 
were manifested by repeated efforts to postpone or curtail the 
project — the law of 1816, to prepare for effecting communi- 
cations between the Hudson and Lake Erie, as well as be- 
tween the Hudson and Champlain, was passed in the Assem- 
bly by a majority of seventy-three, and in the Senate by a 
majority of thirteen. Stephen Van Rensselaer, De Witt 
Clinton, Samuel Young, Joseph Ellicott, and Myron Holley 
were appointed commissioners under this act, with the right 
to select engineers, and an appropriation of $20,000 for car- 
rying out the project, so far as surveys and other preliminary 
arrangements were concerned — the right to commence the 
work not being included in the powers granted to the board. 

The commissioners adopted immediate measures for ef- 
fecting their trust. After appointing Mr. Clinton their pres- 
ident, Mr. Young their secretary, and Mr. Holley their 
treasurer, they divided the Erie Canal line into three sec- 
tions — the western, middle, and eastern — the first extending 
from the lake to Seneca River, the middle from thence to 
Rome, and the eastern from Rome to Albany. Engineers 
were appointed for each section ; and an engineer was also 
appointed to survey the route which had been proposed for 
the canal through the Tonnewanta Valley, on the south side 
of the mountain ridge. This, which was called the Tonne- 
wanta route, was preferred by Mr. Ellicott, in his letter of 
July, 1808, respecting the routes proposed between the Gen- 
esee and Lake Erie, and was the one to which the report of 
Mr. Geddes, in 1809, chiefly referred in reference to the 
country between the Genesee and Lake Erie, 



214 SKETCHES OP ROCHESTER, ETC. 

The Legislature received, in 1817, a report from the com- 
missioners detailing the results of the explorations which 
had been made by some members of the board in connexion 
with the engineers during the previous season. Connected 
with the profiles and maps, some estimates were submitted 
by the commissioners — the cost of the Northern Canal being 
stated at about $900,000, and that of the Western at 
$5,000,000. The facts that the canals were extended — 
that stone was largely substituted for wood — and that un- 
foreseen difficulties occurred, as in the cutting though the 
mountain ridge at Lockport, <fcc, may indicate that the 
increased expense of the works should not reflect discredit 
on those who framed these estimates. 

But the refusal of aid by the general government (the pe- 
tition for which, drawn by De Witt Clinton, was presented 
in Congress by Micah Brooks), and the hopelessness of as- 
sistance from individual states, could not repress the ardour 
with which the magnificent schemes of internal improve- 
ment were regarded by a large portion of the people of this 
state. 

The law of April, 1817, concerning the navigable com- 
munications between the great northern and western lakes 
and the Atlantic Ocean, was passed by large majorities in 
both branches of the Legislature. This act authorized the 
commencement of the canals. It continued the former com- 
missioners, and empowered them to open the communications 
between the Hudson and Lake Champlain ; but, as regarded 
the route from the Hudson to Lake Erie, merely authorized 
them to connect, by canals and locks, the Mohawk and Sen- 
eca Rivers. 

The bill became a law nearly as Mr. Clinton draughted it. 
It included a system of finance, and provided for establishing 
a board of" Commissioners of the Canal Fund," with duties 
indicated by the name. Means were provided for paying 
the interest on loans, and discharging the debts to be created. 
These means consisted of a small tax on salt made at the 
springs belonging to the state, a tax on steamboat passengers 
— the proceeds of some lotteries — part of the duties accru- 
ing from sales at auction — donations of lands from compa- 
nies or individuals to be benefited by the canals* — and a 

* Such as tracts of about 100,000 acres from the Holland Company, 
1000 acres from Gideon Granger, and a like quantity from John Greig, 
as agent of the Hornby Estate, &c. 



PROGRESS OP IMPROVEMENT. 215 

tax of $250,000 to be levied at some future time on lands 
lying within twenty-five miles of the canals. This partial 
tax was imposed upon the supposition that the landholders 
along the lines of the canals would be particularly benefited 
by them ; but no attempt was ever made to levy such a tax, 
, as the beneficial influences of the canals were too widespread 
! to countenance the idea that any local taxation should be 
employed for raising revenue to pay for works which have 
already (with the aid of the salt tax and auction duties) 
not merely discharged the debt incurred for their construc- 
tion, but are now aiding by surplus revenue to enlarge 
,their original dimensions. After the decision of the Su- 
preme Court of the Union against the power of this state 
to give Livingston and Fulton the exclusive privilege of nav- 
igating its waters by steam, no attempt was made to collect 
the tax on steamboat passengers — and from lotteries no as- 
sistance was derived. 

The final establishment of the Canal Policy by the passage 
of the law for commencing the improvements was attended 
by some circumstances which may be mentioned, not merely 
as illustrative of the subject itself, but of the cordial co-opera- 
tion of the most prominent of our statesmen in contributing to 
he glorious result. Some of the friends of De Witt Clinton 
ind Martin Van Buren may be gratified with a sketch of the 
proceedings at that critical period in the history of our in- 
.ernal improvements ; and therefore do we quote the account 
urnished by Col. Wm. L. Stone, Editor of the New- York 
Commercial Advertiser — a writer well-known as a friend of 
Clinton and a uniform political opponent of Van Buren. The 
iccount was written by Col. Stone in 1829, for insertion 
n Hosack's Memoir of Clinton, and runs thus : — 

The Canal Bill having passed the Assembly, was sent to 
he Senate on the 12th April, 1817. 

" On Monday the 14th," says Col. Stone, " the discussion 
vas resumed, when Mr. Elmendorf, of Ulster, and Mr. Peter 
I. Livingston, of Dutchess, successively spoke at length in op- 
position. Mr. Tibbits made a very sound and judicious speech 
b reply, and was followed by Mr. Van Buren, late Governor 
f New-York, and now Secretary of State, also in favour of 
he bill. This was Mr. Van Buren's great speech of the ses- 
ion, and it was indeed a masterly effort. I took notes of 
le whole debate at the time, but being then young in the 
usiness of reporting, and this being the first time I had ever 
ttempted to follow Mr. Van Buren, whose utterance is too 



216 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

rapid for an unpractised pen, and whose manner was on that 
occasion too interesting to allow a reporter to keep his eyes 
upon his paper, my effort was little more than a failure. At 
your request, however, a transcript of the loose notes which 
were preserved is here inserted : — 

" 'Mr. Van Buren said he must trespass upon the committee, while 
he stated the general considerations which induced him to give his vote 
for the bill. It was a subject which had been so fully discussed, and 
upon which so much had been said, that he should deem it arrogance 
to enlarge. The calculations which had been made with respect to the 
probable expense of the canal, and the ways and means for raising funds, 
were fit subjects for consideration. But to do this he deemed himself in- 
competent. He must place great confidence upon the reports of the 
commissioners upon these points. Mr. V. B. here took a brief review 
of the measures adopted at the last session of the legislature in relation i 
to the canal, when a bill, similar to the one now before the Senate, was i 
under consideration, and stated the reasons why he voted against the I 
bill at that time. We then had no calculations made by the commission- n 
ers so minute as at present. Under these considerations, he conceived >i 
it his duty at the last session to move the rejection of the whole bill) 
relating to the commencement of the canal. It was done, and he hadi 
the satisfaction to find that most gentlemen have since united with himr, 
in his opinion. Now the scene is entirely changed. We at that timen 
passed a law appointing new commissioners, and applying 20,000 dollars.! 
to enable them to obtain all the information possible. We now havev 
the information, and we have arrived at the point when, if this bill doJ 
not pass, the project must for many years be abandoned. His convic-ic 
tions were, that it is for the honour and interest of the state to conva 
mence the work at once ; we are pledged by former measures to do it.i 
Mr. Van Buren here reviewed the proceedings of former legislatures uporc 
the subject, during the years 1810, 11, 12, and 14, when, in consequence 
of the war, the law appropriating five millions for the canal was repealed? 
He proceeded : — Since that period, new commissioners have been apa 
pointed, and new authority given, to examine the route for the canals 
and report at the present session of the legislature. A law authorizing 
the commencement of the work has passed the popular branch of tht! 
legislature, and unless we have the clearest convictions that the projece 
is impracticable, or the resources of our state insufficient, you must no 
recede from the measures already taken. Are we satisfied upon these tw v, 
points ? We have had able, competent commissioners to report, an 
they have laid a full statement before us ; we are bound to receiv 
these reports as correct evidence upon this subject. In no part of th ] 
business have we looked to individual states or to the United States f( 
assistance other than accidental or auxiliary. Mr. Van Buren hei 
made some calculations relative to the funds. ' Lay out of view,' sai 
he, ' all the accidental resources, and the revenue from the canal, ar 
in completing the work you will only entail upon the state a debt, tl 
interest of which will amount to but about 300,000 dollars.' He the 
stated the amount of real estate within the state now, and what it prol , 
ably would be if the canal was completed. The tax would not amoui 
to more than one mill on the dollar : unless the report of commissione , 
is a tissue of fraud or misrepresentation, this tax will be sufficient, aT« 



PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT. 217 

more than sufficient, to complete the canal. We are now to say that 
all our former proceedings have been insincere, or we must go on with 
,the work. The people in the districts where we are first to make the 
canal are willing and able to be subjected to the expense of those sec- 
tions. Mr. Van Buren contended that the duties upon salt and the 
auction duties were a certain source of revenue, and that these two 
sources of revenue would be abundant, and more than abundant, for 
ever to discharge the interest of the debt to be created. Ought we, 
'under such circumstances, to reject this bill 1 No, sir ; for one, I am 
Willing to go the length contemplated by the bill. The canal is to pro- 
mote the interest and character of the state in a thousand ways. But 
We are told that the people cannot bear the burden. Sir, I assume it 
"is a fact, that the people have already consented to it. For six years 
We have been engaged upon this business. During this time our tables 
lave groaned with the petitions of the people from every section of our 
country in favour of it ; and not a solitary voice has been raised against 
't. Mr. V. B. said he had seen with regret the divisions that have 
leretofore existed upon this subject, apparently arising from hostility to 
he commissioners. Last year the same bill, in effect, passed the As- 
embly, the immediate representatives of the people ; and this year it 
ias passed again. This was conclusive evidence that the people have 
.ssented to it. Little can be done by the commissioners, other than 
o make a loan, before another session. The money cannot be lost — 
here can be no loss at six per cent. We have now all the information 
ve can wish — we must make up our minds either to be expending large 
'urns in legislation year after year, or we must go on with the project, 
ifter so much has been done and said upon this subject, it would be 
iscreditable to the state to abandon it. 

! '"He considered it the most important vote he ever gave in his life 
-but the project, if executed, would raise the state to the highest pos- 
jble pitch of fame and grandeur. He repeated that we were bound to 
onsider that the people had given their consent. Twelve thousand 
xen of wealth and respectability in the city of New- York last year 
etitioned for the canal ; and, at all events, before the operations would 
e commenced, the people, if opposed to the measure, would have ample 
.me to express their will upon the subject.' 

; " When Mr. Van Buren resumed his seat, Mr. Clinton, 
r ho had been an attentive listener in the Senate chamber, 
reaking through that reserve which political collisions had 
reated, approached him and expressed his thanks for his 
Kertions in the most flattering terms." * * 

" Messrs. Livingston, Elmendorf, and Ogden of Delaware, 
;3verally spoke in reply ; but when the main question on 
je enacting clause was taken, it was carried in the affirma- 
ve, 21 to 8. In the course of this day's sitting a very 
nportant motion was made by Mr. Van Buren with suc- 
3ss. The bill, as it passed the assembly, authorized the 
tans to be made on the canal fund only ; and that was 
le best form in which it could, in the first instance, be 
19 



218 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

passed in that body. The vital importance of extending the 
security was at that time fully appreciated by the friends of 
the canal, and has been amply confirmed by experience. 
This amendment was adopted by a vote of 16 to 11. Sev- 
eral other amendments were made to the bill by the Senate, 
but there was none of sufficient importance to require a 
specification here. Some of these amendments were con- 
curred in by the assembly, among which was the important 
one mentioned above ; and from others the senate receded. 
The result was, that the bill was successfully carried through 
both houses in the course of the evening session of the same 
day, and sent to the Council of Revision. It became a law 
on the following day, viz., the 15th of April.* Under this i 
act, the first meeting of the commissioners to receive propo- ) 
sals and make contracts preparatory to the actual com- 1 
mencement of the work, was held at Utica on the 3d of) 
June, 1817. Colonel Young and Mr. Holley remained toe 
take charge of the commencement of the work upon the mid- 1 
die section, which it was wisely resolved should be firsts 
completed." 

" The next important period in the legislative history of) 
the canals," says Colonel Stone, " was the session of 1819.9 

* "For the passage of this bill through the Senate, much is due tot 
the efforts of Mr. Van Buren," says Gordon, in his late excellent Gaz- 
etteer of the State of New- York. " But this consummation of thel 
commencement was not attained without difficulty. The friends of thei 
canal had to contend with the doubts and fears of many sensible andr 
prudent men ; with conflicting local interests, and with the political 
cabals and personal hostility to Mr. Clinton, ' who had boldly identified 
himself with the canal, and staked his public character on the issue. £ 
To the incessant labour, unremitting energy, and inflexible resolution 
of this great man, the final success of the enterprise is universally btti 
cribed. The leading advocates of the canal were objects of ridicule 
throughout the United States ; and hallucination was the mildest epithei 
applied to them." — Gazetteer, p. 74. Even Mr. Jefferson, in a lettc 
in 1822, admitted that in 1809 he considered that the project of th 
Erie Canal was started a century too soon for the ability of the state ; 
though it is due to truth to state that the impulse given to the spirit c 
improvement by his own course as president at that time contribute 
essentially to the advancement of the project by arousing wide-sprea 
attention to such works, " not only for strengthening the Union, but f< 
promoting our independence of foreign nations, by calling out the ni 
tive riches and resources of our country." — Hosack's Clinton, p. 35' 
It is worthy of passing notice that Jesse Hawley and Joshua Forma 
acknowledge that their attention was excited to the subject of the Er 
Canal by the general spirit breathed through Jefferson's messages 
favour of internal improvement. 



PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT. 219 

The work on the middle section had been prosecuted with 
such vigour and success, that the canal commissioners felt 
justified in recommending the necessary appropriations for 
completing the whole. A bill for this purpose passed the 
assembly ; but it met with much opposition in the Senate, 
and several attempts were made to defeat it by motions to 
^strike out, first, that part which authorized the construction 
of the western section ; and, secondly, that which, in like 
manner, authorized the construction of the eastern section, 
from Utica to the Hudson River. I believe it may be truly 
said of Mr. Van Buren and Colonel Young, that it was to 
their unwearied exertions mainly that the attempts made 
it this time to cripple the bill were defeated." 



From the statements of Colonel Stone we turn now to a 
communication from a citizen whom none can intimately 
enow without warmly esteeming. The statement of Myron 
rlolley, which we are thus enabled to present, is closely 
ponnected with a most interesting period of the history of 
Western New- York. It develops the means which Mr. 
Volley employed in his capacity of commissioner to thwart 
he hostility to the canal which Mr. Van Buren boldly and 
mccessfully struggled against in the Senate. Mr. Holley 
low resides in the city whereat this letter is dated. 

" Rochester, 18th December, 1837. 
" Henry O'Reilly, Esq. 
: "Dear Sir — Your inquiries relative to the facts con- 
lected with the commencement of the construction of the 
irie Canal west of the Seneca River I will now proceed to 
answer. 

; " From the beginning of our great system of canal im- 
provements, a strong party existed in the state who fa- 
r oured the project of passing from the middle section to 
jake Erie by way of Oswego and a lateral cut around the 
? alls of Niagara. This party offered no strenuous resist- 
ance to the opening of the canal from the Rome Summit to 
Vlontezuma ; but, after that portion of the line was contracted 
or and nearly finished, exerted itself with ingenuity and 
lerseverance to accomplish its object. Its views required 
hat the canal commissioners should be restrained by the 
legislature from making contracts for work on the line west 
f the middle section. It was in the winter of 1820 that the 



220 SKETCHES OP ROCHESTER, ETC. 

crisis arrived between the party in question and the friends 
of the inland route. 

" At a late day of the session of the Legislature of the 
preceding winter authority had been given to the commis- 
sioners to extend their operations over the entire lines not 
previously surveyed and let out, of both the Erie and Cham- 1 
plain Canals, under a limited but liberal appropriation, i 
This extension of authority had been earnestly opposed, but 
not very vigorously ; because full concert of action had not 
been secured between the opponents of the whole canal 
policy and the friends of the Oswego route ; and because it 
was deemed impracticable by the public for the commis- 
sioners, during the season next after it was granted, to do] 
much more than complete the middle section and make; 
some preliminary surveys on the other sections. 

" At this time Mr. Seymour and myself were acting com-i> 
missioners on the Erie Canal. Early in the season we di-]i 
rected Engineer White to enter upon the surveys between^ 
the Seneca and Genesee Rivers. The facts previously un-n 
derstood, with the knowledge soon acquired by Mr. Whiter 
left no room for doubt or hesitation as to the general location 
of the line between Montezuma and Rochester ; and thisi 
latter place was perceived to be a necessary point on the lineie 

"Under these circumstances, and with a special reference 
to the approaching crisis in legislative action, in July I did 
rected Mr. White to proceed to Rochester and ascertain, 
carefully where the Genesee could best be crossed, anco 
thence to lay out the line easterly as far as he could, mark'!., 
ing its dimensions by stakes, and dividing it into suitable 
sections for actual contract. To these directions he indusi 1 
triously conformed. 

" In October, 1819, the canal commissioners held a meelf 
ing at Utica. Well aware of the progress of Mr. White, , 
moved the board at that meeting to pass a resolution that a] <' 
the line east from Rochester, located and prepared, shoul i 
be, as soon as practicable, let out to contractors and put i il 
the course of actual construction. This motion was resiste 
by Mr. Seymour, but was adopted by the votes of Messn 
Clinton, Van Rensselaer, and myself — Mr. Young not bein 
present. 

11 Under this resolution about twenty-six miles of cana 
from Rochester to near Palmyra, were let out previous y t ll 
the meeting of the Legislature, and a large amount of mone 
justly earned upon them. 



PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT. 221 

"In January, 1820, the Legislature met. It soon ap- 
peared that the friends of the Oswego route were determined 
to prosecute their views with increased zeal and pertinacity. 
Both in the Legislature and out of it they were numerous 
and active. An intelligent canal committee was raised in 
the Assembly, with Geo. Huntington, of Oneida county, for 
its chairman ; and to them were referred the canal interests 
for that branch of the Legislature. 

" The doubters and opposers of the canal policy had early 
proposed to levy a local tax, from the vicinity of the line 
adopted, to assist in defraying the cost of the works. A 
resolution in favour of this proposition was introduced, and 
referred to the committee. But the great measure of the 

: friends of the Oswego route was a resolution introduced to 
confine all canal expenditures to the eastern section of the 
Erie Canal and the Champlain Canal, till they should both 

( be completed. This resolution was also referred to the canal 

: committee. 

" The adoption of this last resolution by the Legislature, 

: it was plain, would constitute an essential modification of the 

: state policy. The subscriber was thoroughly persuaded that 
such a modification would be vitally mischievous, and la- 
boured with much zeal to avert it. The committee requested 

i the views of the canal commissioners on the two resolutions. 
In answer to this request, a letter was drawn up by me, with 
great labour of inquiry and anxious consideration, and sub- 
mitted to the board. A majority of the board approved it, 
signed it, and sent it to the committee — Messrs. Young and 

i Seymour withheld their sanction from it. The committee 

i reported so far in favour of the views presented in the letter 
as to advise against interfering with the plans of the cora- 
missioners. Their report was opposed with much warmth 

,and persistency, but prevailed, and the Legislature upheld 
the policy, which led to the speedy completion of the canals, 
and has already issued so happily for the interests and 
honour of the state. With much respect, 

i " Your ob't. servant, 

"Myron Holley." 

The incertitude which prevailed even at this period re- 
specting the location of the canal route between Genesee 
River and Lake Erie may be inferred from the language of 
the commissioners in their report of 1820 : — 

19* 



222 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

" Valentine Gill, Esq., has been employed as an engineer, 
with the necessary assistants, to explore the country, in ref- 
erence to the best establishment of the canal line from Gan- 
net's Millpond in Palmyra, with which the old level was 
connected, westerly to the Genesee River, at a point about 
twelve miles south of Rochester, and thence westerly to Buf- 
falo Creek. The easterly part of Mr. Gill's line has been 
rejected in favour of the more northerly route ; but he thinks 
that a line from Rochester may be run southwesterly so as 
to intersect with his line west of the Genesee River, and 
from the point of intersection be carried through the counties 
of Genesee and Niagara to a junction with the waters of Lake 
Erie, south of Buffalo. The great objection to a southern 
route through the Holland Purchase is the fear of a deficiency 
of water to supply it, as such route must necessarily be car- 
ried far above the level of Lake Erie. Mr. Gill's summit 
level is about ninety-four feet above Lake Erie ; but he is 
of opinion that it may be extended more than forty miles, so 
as to embrace the waters of Wescoy, of Allen's, of Tonne- 
wanta, of Ellicott's, and of Little Buffalo Creeks, which, he 
thinks, in the driest season would furnish a copious supply. 
In a country so new, and of which a great part is still cov- 
ered by standing timber, the interests of the canal require 
that great precaution should be taken in the definitive estab- 
lishment of the canal line. It will be proper that other ex- 
aminations should be prosecuted throughout the country west 
of the Genesee River previous to a final decision of the 
route." 

But the commissioners soon after decided in favour of the ! 
northern route between the Genesee and Lake Erie — the i 
uncertainty as to the sufficiency of water on the summit level 1 
counterbalancing the advantages offered by the Tonnewanta i 
Valley — while the cutting through the mountain ridge at 
Lockport, expensive as was the task, found an offset in the 
advantage of being able to supply water through that route 
from the lake as far eastward as the Cayuga Marshes. 
This was the course originally suggested by Jesse Hawley. 
The middle section, from Utica to Seneca River (which 
was very prudently commenced first, as the facility of con- 
struction thereupon encouraged the people to undertake the 
more difficult sections east and west), was rendered navigable 
in October, 1819. Operations on the other two sections 
were commenced simultaneously, as stated in the preceding 



PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT. 223 

letter of Myron Holley. In 1819-20, forty-three miles of the 
western section, chiefly east of the Genesee, and twenty-six 
miles of the eastern section were let to contractors. Early 
in 1821 the remainder of the eastern and the principal por- 
tion of the western (from the Genesee to the Tonnewanta) 
were put under contract. Parts of the western and eastern 
sections were so far completed in 1821 as to permit the pas- 
sage of boats from the east side of the Genesee in Rochester 
as far eastward as Little Falls on the Mohawk. In No- 
Ivember, 1823, boats from Rochester entered the basin at 
(Albany, along with the first boats that passed through the 
Champlain Canal, then just completed. 
i The western section from Buffalo to Montezuma is 158 
miles long, having 21 locks and 106 feet fall ; the middle, 
from Montezuma to Utica, is 96 miles long, with 11 locks, 
and 95 feet rise and fall ; the eastern, from Utica to Albany, 
is 110 miles long, with 84 locks and 417 feet fall. The 
level of the junction of the Erie and Champlain Canals near 
Albany is 44 feet above tide — the Schenectady level, 226 — 
the Utica level, 425 — Montezuma level, 370 — Rochester, 
,506 — Lockport level, 565. 

■ Such was the speed with which the canals were con- 
structed, notwithstanding all the difficulties necessarily en- 
countered, that, within eight years and four months from the 
commencement made on the middle section at Rome on the 
4th of July, 1817, the whole line from Buffalo to Albany was 
navigated by the flotilla that left Lake Erie to participate in 
the festivities which were closed with the " Grand Canal 
Celebration" at New-York on the 4th of November, 1824. 
Governor Clinton, the canal commissioners, and other well- 
known individuals, proceeded with the fleet on this interest- 
ing occasion ; and demonstrations along the whole route 
(especially at Rochester, Lockport, Palmyra, Lyons, Syra- 
cuse, and Utica) testified the enthusiastic feelings which 
[pervaded the people on beholding the happy consummation 
of works which very many who saw the commencement 
expected not to see completed within their lifetime. A 
committee, of which Jesse Hawley was chairman, repre- 
sented the people of Rochester at the incipient festivities 
m Buffalo, where a spirited celebration occurred as the flo- 
cilla of boats commenced the triumphal voyage for the har- 
oour of New-York and the waters of the Atlantic. On that 
occasion Mr. Hawley delivered an address, " brief and pe- 



224 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

culiarly appropriate," says. Colonel Stone, "in behalf of the 
citizens of Rochester." He said he was deputed " to min- 
gle and reciprocate their mutual congratulations with the 
citizens of Buffalo on this grand epoch." The canal, as a 
matter of state pride, was spoken of with much felicity — "A 
work that will constitute the lever of industry, population, 
and wealth to our republic — a pattern for our sister states to 
imitate — an exhibition to the world of the moral force of a 
free and enlightened people." At the conclusion of his re- 
marks, Mr. Hawley rendered tribute to the " projectors who 
devised, the statesmen who assumed the responsibility of the 
undertaking at the hazard of their reputation, the legislators 
who granted the supplies, the commissioners who planned, 
the engineers who laid out, and the men who executed this 
magnificent work." An appropriate reply was made by 
Oliver Forward on behalf of the citizens of Buffalo. 

An account of the scene presented at Rochester as the 
flotilla passed eastward is thus given in the narrative of the 
canal celebration, prepared by Colonel Stone at the request 
of the New- York corporation : 

" At Rochester, too, a rich and beautiful town, which, 
disdaining, as it were, the intermediate grade of a village, 
has sprung from a hamlet to the full-grown size, wealth, and 
importance of a city, the interesting period was celebrated 
in a manner equally creditable to the country and occasion. 
There was considerable rain at Rochester on the day of the 
celebration ; yet such was the enthusiasm of the people, 
that at two o'clock eight handsome uniform companies were 
in arms, and an immense concourse of people had assem- 
bled. The companies were formed in line upon the canal, 
and on the approach of the procession of boats from the 
West commenced firing a feu de joie, which was continued 
until they arrived at the Aqueduct,* where the boat called the 
1 Young Lion of the West' was stationed to ' protect the 
entrance.' The Pioneer boat was hailed from the Young 
Lion, and the following dialogue ensued : 

* " After descending the celebrated locks at Lockport, the canal 
takes an easterly direction, about one to three miles south of the Allu- 
vial Way, or Ridge Road, with the descent of a half inch in each mile 
to the Genesee River at Rochester — sixty-three miles ; in this distance 
it passes over several aqueducts and deep ravines, and arriving at the 
Genesee, crosses over that river in a stone aqueduct of nine arches, 
each of fifty feet span, and two other arches and aqueducts of forty feet 
each, one on each side of the river, over the Mill Canals." 



PROGRESS OP I31PROVEMENT. 225 

11 Question. Who comes there 1 

" Answer. Your brothers from the West on the waters 
of the great lakes. 

" Q. By what means have they been diverted so far 

i from their natural course ? 

'« A. By the channel of the Grand Erie Canal. 

" Q. By whose authority, and by whom, was a work of 

i such magnitude accomplished ? 

" A. By the authority and by the enterprise of the patri- 

i otic people of the State of New-York. 

I n Here the 'Young Lion' gave way, and 'the brethren 

, from the West' were permitted to enter Child's basin at 
the end of the aqueduct. The Rochester and Canandai- 
gua Committees of Congratulation then took their places 

; under an arch surmounted by an eagle, and the Seneca Chief, 
having the committees on board, being moored, General 
Vincent Matthews and the Hon. John C. Spencer ascended 
the deck and offered to the governor the congratulations of 
the citizens of their respective villages, to which an animated 
and cordial reply was given. The gentlemen from the West 

,then disembarked, and a procession was formed, which re- 
paired to the Presbyterian Church, where an appropriate 
prayer was made by the Rev. Mr. Penney and an address 
pronounced by Timothy Childs, Esq. The address of Mr. 
Childs was an able and eloquent performance, clothed with 

:' words that breathe and thoughts that burn.' It was lis- 
tened to with almost breathless silence, and greeted at its 

! close with three rounds of animated applause. After the 

.address, the company repaired to Christopher's Mansion 

, House, partook of a good dinner, and drunk a set of excel- 
lent toasts. General Matthews presided, assisted by Jes- 
se Hawley and Jonathan Child, Esqrs. At half past 
seven, the time fixed for the departure of the guests, the 
company reluctantly rose from a board where the most gen- 
erous sentiments were given and received with unsurpassed 
enthusiasm, and the governor and the several committees 
were escorted to the basin, and embarked amid the congrat- 
ulations of their fellow-citizens. The celebration was con- 
cluded with a grand ball and a general illumination ; and 
nothing occurred to mar the pleasure of the day. The fol- 
lowing gentlemen embarked in the ' Young Lion of the 
West' as a Committee for New- York, viz. : Elisha B, 
Strong, Levi Ward, A. V. T. Leavett, Wm. B. Rochester, 



226 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

M. Hulbert, A. Reynolds, A. Strong, R. Beach, E. Johnson, 
and E. S. Beach, Esquires." 

Having devoted considerable space to the "projectors, 
statesmen, and legislators" who aided in the great enterprise, 
we cannot pass without naming the " commissioners who 
planned and the engineers who laid out" the magnificent 
work. The acting commissioners during the construction 
of the Erie and Champlain Canals were Myron Holley, 
Samuel Young, Henry Seymour, Truman Hart, and William 
C. Bouck. Mr. Hart had been appointed to fill the vacancy 
occasioned by the resignation of Joseph Ellicott in 1818; 
and Mr. Seymour was afterward appointed in lieu of Mr. 
Hart. Mr. Bouck was substituted for De Witt Clinton, when 
the latter (through an error which may furnish useful lessons 
to the politician) was removed from the station of commis- 
sioner. Col. Young had charge of the Champlain Canal. 
The three sections into which the Erie Canal was divided 
were assigned to different commissioners. De Witt Clinton 
and Stephen Van Rensselaer were not what is termed 
" acting" commissioners, though they rendered much service 
gratuitously. The acting commissioners, who were steadily 
employed in the business, and who performed considerable 
service properly belonging to engineers, were allowed $2000 
per annum. 

The engineers on the Erie Canal were Benj. Wright, 
J. Geddes, Canvass White, David Thomas, Nathan S. 
Roberts, David S. Bates, Chas. C. Broadhead, Valentine 
Gill, and Isaac Briggs. Mr. Roberts, Mr. Bates, and Mr. 
Gill are now residents of Rochester. On the Champlain 
Canal, Lewis Garin was engineer for a short time, but Wil- 
liam Jerome took charge in that capacity in 1820. The 
state may well pride itself on the practical talent exhibited 
by this corps of engineers, almost self-taught in canalling. 
The perfection of their work is the highest eulogy on their 
scientific character. 

The report of the canal board in 1826 stated that the 
whole expense of constructing the Erie and Champlain Ca- 
nals, including interest upon loans, was $10,731,594. The 
anticipation expressed that the amount of the then outstand- 
ing debt (about seven and three quarter millions, payable in 
1837 and 1845) could be fuHy discharged in ten years from 
that date, has been happily realized, as sufficient funds for 
the purpose were accumulated in 1836, notwithstanding the 



PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT. 227 

reduction of tolls and salt duties, and the unexpected heavi- 
ness of the charges for repairs. 

The effects of cheapening transportation are signally il- 
lustrated in the history of the Erie Canal, and form strong 
arguments in furtherance of the enlargement of that ca- 
'Nal — the increased volume of water being calculated to per- 
mit the passage of boats with double or treble the present 
tonnage, without materially increasing the cost of traction or 
management in those vessels. The canal commissioners, 
in their reports to the Legislature, have calculated that a 
reduction of at least fifty per cent, in the rate of transporta- 
tion would immediately follow the enlargement. The ex- 
amples cited by the commissioners in sustenance of the pol- 
icy of reducing tolls to the lowest practicable point are 
•worthy of particular attention in connexion with the history 
of our internal improvements : 

I " A reduction in the rates of toll might be desirable from 
lits beneficial influence upon trade," say the commissioners, 
•" even though the revenues of the state should be diminished 
by the operation. The revenue from tolls is a minor inter- 
est when compared with the twenty millions in value of pro- 
ducts coming to market, the sale of 20 or 30 millions of 
'merchandise, and the benefit derived from the transportation 
of this property upon the river, the canals, and the lakes. 

• Notwithstanding the great reduction in the rates of toll here- 
tofore made, the aggregate amount of revenue from the ca- 
nals, for three years since the reduction commenced, ex- 
ceeds the amount received for three years at the old rates 

i by more than a million of dollars." The amount of tolls 
on the Erie and Champlain Canals for 1830-31-32, at the 
iold rates, formed a total of $3,185,469. In 1833-34-35, 
I at the reduced rates, the product of toll on those canals was 

• $4,209,604. 

M The beneficial effects on revenue as well as trade of 
cheapening transportation may be illustrated by a few ex- 
amples. Previous to 1827, the toll on tobacco prevented 
its transportation through the Erie Canal ; in that year the 
toll was reduced to the constitutional minimum. For 1828, 
there are no tables showing the quantity of tobacco coming 
to market from the west; but in 1829 there came to tide 
water 32 tons — in 1830,62 tons — in 1831, 222 tons — in 

1 1832, 386 tons— in 1833, 535 tons— in 1834, 1009 tons— 

land in 1835, 1750 tons. 



228 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

"In 1829, the toll on copperas was reduced to the con- 
stitutional minimum, on a representation that the quantity 
produced in Vermont, which had previously been carried to 
Boston by land, would by such reduction be transported to 
New-York through the Champlain Canal. During the first 
season after the reduction, 110 tons of copperas were cleared 
at Whitehall, and this quantity has increased from year to 
year, until, in 1835, the quantity cleared was 693 tons. 

" In 1829, on a petition from the millers of Rochester, the 
toll on bran and ship stuff was reduced 50 per cent. ; the 
result of which has been that the season after the reduction 
was made, 590 tons came to tide water, and during 1835, 
3592 tons were transported on the canals, being worth in 
market $86,348. 

"In the spring of 1833, the Ohio Canal was opened from 
Cleveland to the Ohio River, and in the anticipation of this 
event the canal board made a general reduction in the rates 
of toll equal to an average of 20 per cent, on all commodities. 
And in the summer of 1833 a meeting was held between a 
committee of the Ohio Canal commissioners and our canal 
board, at which it was agreed to reduce the tolls on merchan- 
dise on the New-York and Ohio Canals 25 per cent., the 
reduction to take effect in 1834. This arrangement was 
carried into effect by both parties. The reduction on the 
New-York canals in the two years referred to, on all arti- 
cles coming from or going to the Western states, was equal 
to 35| per cent. These reductions were made with a view 
of enabling our merchants to send their goods through the 
New-York and Ohio Canals into the valleys of the Ohio and 
Mississippi ; a region from which they had been excluded 
through the route of the Erie Canal previous to the opening 
of the Ohio Canal. The tables now presented, exhibiting 
the quantity of merchandise sent to other states, show the 
success which has attended these efforts. Of the goods 
sent to Ohio, large quantities reach Cincinnati, Louisville, 
and other points on the Ohio River, and limited quantities 
are sent to Missouri, Tennessee, and Alabama. 

" During the last three years goods have been sent by the 
route of the Erie Canal to Huntsville, in the state of Ala- 
bama. The distance from the City of New-York to Hunts- 
ville is as follows, viz. : 
From New-York to Albany, on the river, . 150 miles 

" Albany to Buffalo, by canal, . . 363 



PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT. 229 

From Buffalo to Cleveland, by lake, . . 200 miles 

" Cleveland to Portsmouth, by canal, . 309 
" Portsmouth to Cincinnati, by Ohio 

River, 113 

" Cincinnati to mouth of Tennessee 

River, 500 

" Up Tennessee River to Florence, . 300 

" Florence to Huntsville, by land, . 75 



2010 miles 
" Of this distance 672 miles are canal navigation, on 
which the transportation can be essentially cheapened ; 1. 
By a reduction of tolls ; and, 2. By enlarging and improving 
the canals. The improvement of the Erie Canal, it is esti- 
mated, will diminish the cost of transportation on it 50 per 
cent. ; and it is quite probable that a reduction of 50 per 
cent, in the rates of toll would produce such an increase of 
business as not essentially to diminish the revenues of the 
canals." 

The reduction of charges which would accompany the in- 
creased facilities for transportation afforded by an enlarge- 
ment of the Erie Canal — a reduction equal to at least fifty 
per cent. — coupled with the further reduction of toll here 
suggested by the commissioners, would render the Erie Ca- 
nal emphatically " the great highway" between the Atlantic 
and the interior seas, bidding defiance to all competition in 
the general transportation of freight between the east and 
the west. 

The movements of the canal commissioners in 1835, in 
favour of enlargement and double locks, were followed by a 
law authorizing the work to be prosecuted with the surplus 
revenue of the canals, after discharging all encumbrances 
for repairs, &c. Sixty feet topwater width and a depth of 
six feet were the dimensions first proposed for the enlarged 
trunk ; but the urgent recommendations of some meetings in 
the west found a ready response in the decision of the com- 
missioners for increasing those dimensions to seventy feet in 
one way and seven feet in the other. Nowhere has the 
policy of this measure been more cordially sustained than in 
Rochester. The people of that city expressed their convic- 
tions that an enlargement to even eighty feet in width and 
eight feet in depth would be nowise impolitic, for the pur- 
pose of showing the canal board that they were prepared to 

20 



230 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

sustain them in adopting any dimensions between those first 
suggested and the latter propositions. The extensive inter- 
est of our people in the transportation business of the Erie 
Canal — the practical familiarity of our forwarders with the 
details — imparted considerable weight to the opinions ex- 
pressed. The adjourned meeting at which these opinions 
were expressed occurred at the courthouse in Rochester on 
the 21st of September, 1835 ; when the mayor, Jacob Gould, 
presided, and E. Darwin Smith acted as secretary. "The 
committee of forty, selected at the previous meeting, to 
whom was referred the contemplated enlargement of the 
Erie Canal," says the account published at the time, " pre- 
sented the following memorial and resolutions (which had I 
been reported to that committee by their sub-committee, com- • 
posed of Myron Holley, Jesse Hawley, David S. Bates, , 
Lyman B. Langworthy, and Henry O'Reilly) as their report t 
— which, having been considered and adopted, was ordered I 
to be presented to our citizens for signature, and then trans- • 
mitted to the canal board previous to their meeting on the ; 
20th October." 

The memorial and resolutions were drawn with the usual 1 
terseness of Myron Holley, from whom, while a commis- • 
sioner, proceeded many of the most valuable documents in- ■ 
corporated in the "official history" of the Erie and Cham- - 
plain Canals. It may be remarked, that on the same sub- • 
committee there was associated with Mr. Holley two other r 
persons who could have little imagined, in their early efforts 3 
for improvement, that they would live to see undertaken ann 

enlargement more expensive than the original enterprise 

Jesse Hawley, the author of the first essays in favour of thee 
Erie Canal, and David S. Bates, one of the excellent engi- 
neers who arranged the work. A committee of publication i 
and correspondence, appointed to further the views of the" 
meeting, consisted of Jesse Hawley, Timothy Childs, Isaac 
Hills, Lyman B. Langworthy, Jacob Gould, and Thomas H. 
Rochester. 

The memorial set forth that " the subscribers are resi- 
dents of this state near the line of the Erie Canal ; and many 
of us have long been, and still are, extensively engaged in 
the business of transportation upon it. We have habitually 
observed its effects and shared in its influences, and sup- 
pose no private members of the community have been more 
incited by interest, or had better opportunities to understand i 



PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT. 231 

all its bearings upon public and private prosperity. We 
were exceedingly gratified with that enlightened regard to 
one of the most important subjects of their care, which led 
the Legislature, in May last, to provide for the enlargement 
of this great work. And we congratulate each other upon 
the wisdom which placed the time, and mode, and measure 
of such enlargement at the almost unrestricted discretion of 
the canal board ; and more especially as the law to which 
we refer was passed, after due reflection and deliberation, 
upon your report of 30th March preceding. That able doc- 
ument, with the scientific and satisfactory letter appended to 
it, addressed to your honourable body by three of your engi- 
neers, appears to us to indicate the most obvious and effi- 
cient means of giving the happiest development to the great 
system of internal improvement which this state has so long 
and so profitably pursued.'' 

A few of the resolutions will exhibit the views expressed 
touching the canal policy past and present of the State of 
New- York :— 

" 6th. Resolved, That it well beeomes the policy of this 
state, as soon as it may be consistent with its constitutional 
charter, to complete ilie enlargement of her great artificial 
water-way ; and then to provide liberally for all the ramifi- 
cations from this spinal cord of her internal navigation. 

" 7th. Resolved, That we view the construction of the 
Erie Canal on its present dimensions as a measure of econ- 
omy wisely adapted to the greater work which we now 
contemplate ; insomuch that, if our present views had been 
originally entertained by judicious and practical statesmen, 
they would have been amply justified in giving it such minor 
dimensions : first, as a large experiment to convince the in- 
credulous of the advantages of the work ; second, as the 
most useful engine which could have been devised to facili- 
tate the ulterior construction. 

" 8th. Resolved, That, considering the natural advantages 
which the state of New-York possesses in her population, 
her wealth, her experience, her enterprise, and her reputa- 
tion, to obtain and secure the trade of the western lakes and 
a portion of the valley of the Ohio, it belongs to her en- 
lightened statesmen to accomplish a work which will con- 
tribute so largely to the individual wealth and public pros- 
perity of her citizens, and merit the benedictions and grat- 
itude of posterity." 



232 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

At the session of the 20th October of the same year, 
the canal board, as already intimated, decided on increasing 
the dimensions ten feet in width and one in depth beyond 
the sixty by six proposed in the first plan of enlargement. 

But the process of enlargement by means of the surplus 
tolls alone is too slow to suit the feelings or accord with the 
interests of the people or the character of the state. Vigor- 
ous efforts have been made in the western part of the state 
to procure a law for expediting the enlargement. A public 
meeting was held at the courthouse in Rochester on the 
30th December, 1836, to consider the propriety of urging 
the adoption of means additional to those appropriated by 
the law of 1835 for effecting the improvement. As one ob- 
ject of this volume is to collect facts respecting the City of 
Rochester ; as the project of enlargement is second only in 
importance to the original scheme of the Erie Canal ; and as 
consequences of some note followed the stand taken by the 
people of Rochester, an outline of their proceedings on this 
occasion may be introduced as explanatory of the views 
which influenced them in recommending the proposed course 
of policy. 

" ENLARGEMENT OF THE ERIE CANAL. 

" Proposed Loan anticipating the Canal Revenue, for 
expediting that magnificent work. 

u At a meeting of the citizens of Rochester assembled at 
the courthouse on the 30th December, 1836, pursuant to 
public notice, to consider the subject of the enlargement of 
the Erie Canal, James Seymour, Esq., was called to the 
chair, and S. G. Andrews appointed secretary. 

" The meeting was addressed by Doctor M. Brown, by 
General Gould, and by Henry O'Reilly, who introduced the 
following resolutions, which were unanimously adopted : 

" Whereas, The Legislature of the State of New- York 
recently authorized the enlargement of the Erie Canal to 
such dimensions as the canal authorities should deem re- 
quisite for the commerce, already vast and rapidly increas- 
ing, through that immense thoroughfare between the Atlantic 
seaboard and the extensive inland navigation furnished by 
our mighty lakes and rivers — such enlargement to be ac- 
complished gradually, by an annual expenditure of the rev- 



PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT. 233 

enue of the canals of the state, after discharging the many 
other burdens to which that revenue is subjected : and, 

" Whereas, The canal commissioners, pursuant to the 
power with which they are thus intrusted, have taken all 
proper measures for prosecuting the great project as ener- 
getically as their limited means will allow — having previ- 
ously consulted and been sustained by public opinion in de- 
termining that the proposed enlargement should extend to 7 
feet depth and 70 feet width — a capacity sufficient for float- 
ing vessels of thrice the present tonnage with nearly similar 
traction, and calculated greatly to encourage trade through 
this state by reducing the freight in a ratio somewhat simi- 
lar: and, 

" Whereas, The cost of the enlargement will, at least, 
equal the original expense of constructing the Erie Canal — a 
sum which cannot probably be netted from the canal revenue 
and made applicable for effecting the enlargement in less 
than twelve or fifteen years — a period altogether too remote 
for accomplishing an improvement so well justified by suc- 
cessful results hitherto ; so loudly demanded by the true in- 
terests and fame of the state ; so imperatively required by 
the vast spread of population westward, needing improved 
facilities for trade and travel between the shores of their in- 
land seas and the coasts of the Atlantic : Be it therefore 

" Resolved, By the citizens of Rochester, in general meet- 
ing assembled, That, in view of all these circumstances, 
and in consideration of the strenuous efforts now constantly 
made to divert trade and travel between east and west 
through canals and railroads in other quarters rival to those 
Df this state, we feel it to be due alike to the welfare of this 
state and to our own interest to aid in arousing general at- 
ention to a subject of such vital consequence as the en- 
largement, with all practicable speed, of our great naviga- 
jle highway, the construction of which has shed lustre on 
he Empire State as the pioneer in the cause of internal im- 
)iovement ; while it has benefited not only this state, but a 
arge portion of the confederacy, to a degree far transcend- 
ng the most sanguine calculations of its earliest and strong- 
;st advocates. 

"Resolved, That in the opinion of this assemblage, the 
ame enlightened public opinion which warranted the raising 
if loans for effecting the original experiment of the Erie Ca- 
nt, and which recently imboldened the canal authorities to 

20* 



234 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

decide on enlarging that «great work to nearly double its 
present capacity, will now triumphantly sustain the Legis- 
lature in authorizing a loan based on the canal revenue, for 
hurrying to completion with all practicable speed the en- 
largement of that invaluable enterprise, which may always 
be continued the great highway, as it was the first, be- 
tween the waters of the Far West and of the ocean — the 
grand connecting link between the people of the sea- 
board and their fellow-citizens of a vast interior — " The 
great highway," for the immense benefits which would re- 
sult to trade from its speedy enlargement would at once 
place it beyond injurious competition from any other chan- 
nel which can be devised for intercourse between the Atlan- 
tic and much of the Mississippi Valley, as well as the vast : 
chain of lakes — "The grand connecting link," for the influ- ■ 
ence of the magnificent work thus speedily accomplished, | 
before trade is much diverted into other channels now open- • 
ing, would be felt through all time in the political and social ! 
relations of the wide-spread regions whose interests it would I 
permanently cement. 

" Resolved, That however important the proposed en- ■ 
largement may be to Rochester and to Western New-York, , 
we should grossly wrong our fellow-citizens by ascribing to ) 
a sense of mere personal or local interest the animated feel- - 
ing which pervades the community respecting it — as, though 1 
fully alive to the great stake which we all have in its speedy i 
accomplishment, the emotions of pride and patriotism with I 
which the subject is discussed through this region invests s 
it with a character more elevated than can be reached by I 
any calculation of dollars and cents." 

[About half of the resolutions are omitted — one of which i 
proposed a convention of the people of Western New-York, j 
to be held at Rochester on the 18th January, 1837, to urge I 
upon the Legislature the policy of borrowing money, in an- 
ticipation of the canal revenue, for speedily completing the 
enlargement.] 

"The following gentlemen were appointed a committee, 
under one of the foregoing resolutions, to carry out the ob- 
jects of the meeting: Henry O'Reilly, J. Child, M. Brown, 
Jacob Gould, A. M. Schermerhorn, S. G. Andrews, J. K.* 
Livingston, Joseph Field, E. Darwin Smith, Silas O. Smith, 
Thomas Kempshall, Joseph Strong, Hervey Ely. 

" James Seymour, Chairman. 

" S. G. Andrews, Secretary." 



PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT. 235 

Pursuant to the arrangements made at this meeting, one 
i of the largest Conventions ever held in Western New-York 
i met in the courthouse in Rochester on the day proposed, 

and continued the session till the following afternoon. Na- 
j than Dayton, of Lockport, now Circuit Judge, presided on 
. the occasion, assisted by James Seymour, of Rochester, 
: Jesse Hawley, of Niagara county, Josiah Trowbridge, of 

Buffalo, and Allen Ayrault, of Geneseo. Jas. L. Barton, of 
: Erie, Saml. G. Andrews, of Rochester, Theron R. Strong, of 
, Wayne, and A. H. M'Kinstry, of Orleans, were secretaries. 
The Convention was addressed by various gentlemen from 
. different sections ; by Seth C. Hawley, John L. Kimberly, R. 
. W? Haskins, W. K. Scott, James R. Barton, Bela D. Coe, 
' Wm. Ketchum, Mr. Douglass, and others among the large 
. and spirited delegation from Buffalo ; by Jesse Hawley, 

Washington Hunt, Orsamus Turner, Robert H. Stevens, 

• and others from Lockport ; by Truman Hart, formerly a 
I canal commissioner, J. W. Cuyler, and others from Palmyra ; 
! by Micah Brooks, of Mount Morris, Mr. Bennett, of Lima, 

and others from Livingston county ; by Hiram M'Collum, 
. of New-York ; by Matthew Brown, F. Whittlesey, E. D. 
, Smith, H. L. Stevens, Orlando Hastings, Elisha B. Strong, 
i Joseph Strong, Alexander Kelsey, S. G.Andrews, and other 

• citizens of Rochester. An address to the people of the 
i state, reported by Orsamus Turner, and a series of resolu- 
| tions submitted by the chairman of the committee raised for 
i the purpose, expressive of the views entertained of the great 

question of State Policy which the convention had assem- 

• bled to promote, were adopted, after animated and satisfac- 
tory remarks indicating the strong interest felt by the large 

: assemblage. The proceedings were in full accordance with 
; the views expressed by the Rochester meeting which called 
; the Convention. One of the speakers noticed the fact, as re- 

• markable in the history of our internal improvements, that 
i some of the earliest projectors and advocates of our canal 

system were present and participated in this convention — a 
■ convention assembled to promote the speedy enlargement of 
the Grand Canal — to urge the original construction of which 
1 canal some of the same persons had assembled in a similar 
', convention at Canandaigua in January, 1817 — precisely 
: twenty years before. After a session which was marked 
with very gratifying evidences of harmonious co-operation 
in the cause for which it was convened, the convention con- 
cluded its business by appointing the following persons as a 



236 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

Central Executive Committee at Rochester, to take all proper 
measures for placing the subject fully before the people, and 
by memorials before the Legislature, viz. : Henry O'Reilly, 
James Seymour, Jonathan Child, E. Darwin Smith, Samuel 
G. Andrews, Thomas H. Rochester, Horace Gay, Frederic 
Whittlesey, Orlando Hastings, Everard Peck, Abraham M. 
Schermerhorn, Thomas Kempshall, Joseph Field. The 
committee thus constituted adopted energetic measures for 
fulfilling their trust, in connexion with a spirited committee 
appointed by the citizens of Buffalo. A bill authorizing an 
appropriation of half a million of dollars per annum, in addi- 
tion to the surplus canal tolls, for the purposes of the enlarge- 
ment, was started in the Legislature, then in session, but 
failed to become a law. Farther efforts were made to ad- 
vance the enterprise by presenting the subject by memorials 
to the present Legislature (1838) ; and a bill proposing an 
appropriation, larger than that offered last year ($3,000,000 
annually, besides surplus tolls), must meet its fate in the 
Senate, favourable or otherwise, within a few days after this 
sheet passes through the press. 

Since the completion of the Erie and Champlain Canals, 
the canal policy has been extended so as to embrace within 
its invigorating influences nearly all sections of the state. 
A brief notice of these ramifications of the system may be 
added here : 

1. The Oswego Canal, 38 miles long, extends from Syra- 
cuse to Lake Ontario, nearly half the distance being slack- 
water navigation, by means of Oswego River. The lock- 
age is 123 feet on canal and dam, there being 14 lift locks 
and 6 guard locks. It was commenced in 1826 and com- 
pleted in 1828. 

2. The Cayuga and Seneca Canal, begun in 1827 and 
finished in 1829, extends from Geneva eastwardly along the 
north end of Seneca Lake to the outlet, about two miles ; 
and thence down the outlet to Montezuma, nineteen miles, 
one quarter of which is through the marshes. It connects 
with the Cayuga Lake by a short side-cut, making the 
whole line of canalling twenty-three miles, for about half of 
which the river is used. But the whole line of navigation 
connected with the Erie Canal by this improvement, com- 
prehending the Cayuga and Seneca Lakes, is about 100 
miles, or 139 miles, including the Chemung Canal and its 
feeder. 

3. The Chemung Canal, constructed between 1830 and 



PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT. 237 

1833, forms part of the communication between Seneca 
Lake and the Susquehanna River. It runs from the head 
of Seneca Lake through the valley of Catharine Creek to 
the village of Horseheads ; thence along Marsh Creek to 
Elmira, on Chemung River, a tributary of the Susquehan- 
na. A navigable feeder, sixteen miles long, from Chemung 
River at Knoxrille to the summit level at Horseheads, 
makes, with the main canal, a total navigation of 39 miles. 
It has 53 wooden locks, with 488 feet lockage on the main 
line, and 28 on the feeder, making a total of 516 feet lock- 
age. From Elmira to Albany by this canal, Seneca Lake, 
Cayuga and Seneca, and Erie Canals, is 326 miles, more 
than one third longer than a direct route. 

4. The Crooked Lake Canal is about eight miles long 
Tom the foot of Crooked Lake, near Penn-Yan, to Dresden 
)n Cayuga Lake, with a lockage of 269 feet, overcome by 
11 wooden locks. With Crooked Lake, 20 miles long, and 
i branch of seven miles, a navigation of 35 miles is thus 
)pened. Commenced in 1830, finished in 1833. 

5. The Chenango Canal, completed between 1833 and 
1837, extends from the Erie Canal at Utica to the Susque- 
lanna River at Binghamton, Broome county— .length 97 
niles, with a total lockage of 1009 feet ; the rise from the 
3rie Canal to the summit level being 706 feet, and the fall 
hence to the Susquehanna 303 feet. Commencing at 
Jtica, it passes through the valleys of Oriskany and Sau- 
uioit Creek and Chenango River, and by the villages of 
^ew-Hartford, Clinton, Madison, Hamilton, Sherburne, Nor- 
vich, Oxford, Greene, and Chenango Forks, and ending at 
Jinghamton. 

6. The Delaware and Hudson Canal was constructed 
nder acts of the New-York and Pennsylvania Legislatures 
etween 1825 and 1829. The chief object of this canal is 
3 supply the New- York, Albany, and other markets with 
oal, although the company have, besides a loan of the 
redit of this state for $800,000, the privilege of using one 
lird of their capital ($1,500,000) in banking. Rondout, a 
rile from the Hudson, is the eastern depot of this corn- 
any — 90 miles from New-York, and 60 from Albany. Its 
r estern termination is at Honesdale, Penn., 108 miles dis- 
mt from the Hudson depot. The amount of lockage is 
50 feet, the number of locks 107. From Honesdale, the 
ompany have a railroad of 16 miles, on which their coal is 

ansported from Carbondale to Honesdale. 



238 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

7. The Black River Canal and Erie Canal Feeder. This 
canal is to extend from the foot of the High Falls on Black 
River to the Erie Canal at Rome. A feeder is to be made 
(navigable) from the Black River to the summit level near 
Boonville, 11 miles; and the Black River to be made navi- 
gable for steamboats drawing four feet, from the northern 
termination of the canal to Carthage in Jefferson county, 
forty miles. The lockage up from the Erie Canal is 696 
feet, and down to Black River, 387 — total 1053 feet, re- 
quiring 135 locks. The estimated cost of the whole im- 
provements here named is $1,068,437. This enterprise is 
for the accommodation of the northern part of Oneida, all of 
Lewis, and part of Jefferson and St. Lawrence counties. 

8. Last, but not least — The Genesee Valley Canal, to 
connect the Erie Canal at Rochester with the Allegany 
River at Olean in Cattaraugus county. This may properly 
be termed the southwest termination of the Grand Canal, as 
by it the main trunk will be directly connected with the wa- ■ 
ters of the Mississippi Valley, a matter which must prove I 
of great consequence to the trade of the state. This was a t 
favourite project with some of those who were most efficient t 
In promoting the construction of the Erie Canal. It was > 
recommended to the Legislature by Gov. Clinton on various I 
occasions. The route underwent several examinations be- ■ 
tween 1825 and 1836, in which latter year the law passed II 
for its construction. The length of the route from Ro- - 
Chester to Allegany River at Olean is 107 miles — which, ; 
with the side-cut between the flourishing villages of Mount t 
Morris and Dansville, will make a total of 122 miles. . 
About one third of the route was placed under contract in r 
the fall and winter of 1837 ; the remainder will be put in ]l 
hand as speedily as practicable, and the whole work will 
be completed probably by the close of 1840. The summit | 
level is 11^ miles long, and 979 feet above the Erie Canal 
at Rochester; and the whole lockage on canal and feeders, 
ascending and descending, will be 1059 feet, overcome by 
132 locks, of which the greatest number in a short distance 
will occur in Mount Morris, where there will be 450 feet 
of lockage in four miles. The proportion of lockage to the 
length of this canal is about the same as on the Chenango. ; 
Passing through a country rich as the Genesee Valley; 
connecting the Erie Canal and Lake Ontario at Rochester 
with the Allegany River, and through it with the Ohio and 



PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT. 239 

Mississippi ; affording opportunities for exchanging our pro- 
! ducts for the coal and iron of Pennsylvania, and other com- 
modities of different states; the importance of the Genesee 
: Valley Canal to the permanent welfare of the City of Ro- 
chester, as well as to that of the trade of the state, may be 
readily conjectured by the intelligent examiner. Farther 
, notice of this canal is taken in connexion with the trade of 
i Rochester. 

Thus much for the " progress of improvement" as indi- 
cated by the principal canals authorized to be constructed in 
ithis state. A few words now for the two principal lines of 
irailroads. 

The " New- York and Erie Railroad," through the south- 
.ern tier of counties, was undertaken by a company chartered 
in 1832. The proposed route, some sections of which have 
been placed under contract, passes through the counties of 
Rockland, Orange, Sullivan, Delaware, Broome, Chenango, 
Tioga, Chemung, Steuben, Allegany, Cattaraugus, and Cha- 
tauque. It is to commence at a point on the Hudson con- 
venient to New- York, and terminate on Lake Erie, west of 
[Cattaraugus Creek, in Chatauque county. A law of 1835 
promised the loan of the credit of the state for three millions 
of dollars, state stock for which to be issued in certain por- 
tions as the company should complete different sections. 
ITen years are allowed by the charter for finishing the first 
quarter, fifteen for finishing one half, and twenty years for 
completing the undertaking. Benj. Wright, Jas. Seymour, 
and Charles Ellet, surveyed the route in 1834, and their 
calculations of its feasibility have been approved by various 
engineers. Some sections of the route may be made pro- 
ductive as soon as completed, and thus make returns upon 
i,he investments, which will aid much in encouraging those 
joncerned to an early completion of the route. Gordon, in 
lis Gazetteer of New- York, marks the following points on 
he line of this proposed communication : 
i M The valleys traversed by the route distribute it into six 
i^reat divisions : 

" 1. Hudson, from the west bank of the Hudson 
River, 24 miles north of New-York City, to the Deer- Miles - 
oark gap of the Shawangunk mountain, . . . 73£ 

" 2. Delaware, from Deerpark gap, through the val- 
ey of the Delaware and its tributaries, to a summit 12 
niles northwest of Deposit, Delaware county, . .115 

" 3. Susquehanna, from that summit, through the 



240 SKETCHES OP ROCHESTER, ETC. 

valley of the Susquehanna, &c, to a summit 13 miles Milei *- 
southwest of Hornellsville, Steuben county, . . 163£ 

" 4. Genesee, from the last-mentioned summit, over 
the Genesee Valley, to a summit 3 miles east of the 
village of Cuba, Allegany county, . . . .37 

" 5. Allegany, along the valley of the Allegany 
River and tributaries, on a line to the head of an in- 
clined plane, proposed upon the dividing ridge at Lake 
Erie, 83 

" 6. Lake Erie, comprising the short and rapid de- 
scent to the lake, and including the inclined plane, and 
two branches, one to Portland, 9, and the other to 
Dunkirk, 8| miles, 9 

" Add the distance to New-York from the point of 
departure on the Hudson, 24 

" And the whole will be 505 

" The distance from New- York to Portland, via Newburgh, , 
is 415 miles; but the route of the railroad round, not over r 
the hills, gives the increase. A straight, but far more ex- - 
pensive course might perhaps be made in 350 miles. It is 3 
apprehended, however, that more minute surveys will enable z 
the engineers to shorten the route ; and it is now said to be e 
reduced to 460 miles." 

The whole cost of the New- York and Erie Railroad, from i 
the Hudson to Lake Erie, is estimated at $6,000,000 for a a ; 
single track, including locomotives, cars, &c. Among thee 
projected lateral communications connected with this railroad c 1 
route, there is one for connecting at Dansville with a pro-i 
posed railroad from Rochester, as well as with the branch of)' 
the Genesee Canal — and in Allegany county, the New-Yorkl 
and Erie Railroad route crosses the main trunk of the Gen-t 
esee Canal. So that this proposed southern railroad can-; 
not be viewed with indifference by the people of Rochester, 
connected with it as they may thus be, by railroad or canal 
through the Genesee Valley. 

But there is still another line of railroad, the speedy com- 
pletion of which promises great advantage to Rochester. 
The northern railroad route, between the Hudson and Lake 
Erie, passes through Rochester in connecting Albany and 
Buffalo. It is composed of several links, such as the roads 
between Albany and Schenectady, from the latter place tot 
Utica, thence to Syracuse, from that place to Auburn, and 



PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT. 241 

from Auburn to Rochester— whence the communication is 
continued by the Tonnewanta Railroad to Batavia and Attica, 
while the enterprising citizens of Buffalo, connected with 
others at Batavia, &c, are preparing to finish the last link in 
the chain by carrying on the work from Batavia to Lake 
Erie at Buffalo. This line is now in operation between Al- 
bany and Utica, and between Rochester and Batavia — the 
section between Syracuse and Auburn will be in operation 
this summer — while vigorous preparations are made for 
completing speedily the links between Utica and Syracuse, 
and between Auburn and Rochester. 

With the improvements in progress between Albany and 
Boston, it is not improbable that in three years a railroad 
communication will thus be completed from Lake Erie to 
Massachusetts Bay — passing through Rochester^ where the 
route is connected with the navigation of Lake Ontario. 

So that, in the two great railroad routes between the east 
and west, as well as in the magnificent works of enlarging 
!the Erie Canal and constructing the Genesee Canal, be- 
sides the improvement of the lake and river navigation, it 
will be seen that the people of Rochester have extensive in- 
terests which may excuse the fulness of the references here 
made to the subject of Internal Improvements — some fur- 
ther particulars of which, in their connexions with our city, 
.may be found among the notices in the sequel of the trade 
.and resources of Rochester. 

The extent of our internal improvements forms at this 
day a brilliant contrast to the rude efforts which we have 
traced in roadmaking through Western New- York. And 
yet it has been said that this state is a sluggard in the cause 
of which she was one of the earliest pioneers ! In rebutting 
a charge of this sort, the State Paper mentions that — 

" Since 1817 not a year has passed in which New- York has not been 
engaged upon some great work of internal improvement : and the state 
is at this moment engaged in the construction of works, the cost of 
•which (to say nothing of the loan to the New- York and Erie Railroad) 
is not estimated at less than $21,000,000 ! The following statement, 
derived from authentic sources, will show what New-York has done. 

'Canals finished cost $12,000,000 

Genesee Valley and Black River will cost . . 6,200.000 

Enlargement of the Erie Canal, at least . . . 15,000,000 

Loaned to Delaware and Hudson Canal . . 800,000 

|Loaned (authorized) New- York and Erie Railroad . 3,000,000 

Amount carried over, $37,000,000 

21 



242 



SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 



Amount brought forward, 



" So much has been expended and authorized to be ex- 
pended by the state. In addition to which are the follow- 
ing private works of improvement, viz. : 
Delaware and Hudson Canal, completed . $2,420,000 
Railroads completed .... 5,065,000 

Private Canals commenced . . . 1,550,000 

Railroads commenced .... 16,000,000 



$37,000,000 



Total . 

Add railroads authorized 



25,035,000 

$62,035,000 
31,064,000 



Grand total . . $93,099,000 

" The number of miles of canals and railroads completed is 995 ; miles 
commenced, 1134 ; authorized, 1704 ; showing a total of 4833 miles." 
Thus has New- York sustained the system which she commenced. 

The following is a comparative view of the tolls on the I 
canals for four years : 



Canals. 


1833. 


1834. 


1835. 


1836. 


Erie Canal, 
Champlain Canal, 
Oswego Canal, 
Cayuga and Seneca, 
Chemung Canal, 
Crooked Lake, 


1,290,136 20 

132,559 02 

22,950 47 

17,174 69 

694 00 

200 84 

1,463,715 22 


1,179,744 97 

115,211 89 

22,168 02 

18,130 43 

3,378 05 

1,473 40 

1,340,106 76 


1,375,82126 

117,030 33 

29,180 62 

20,430 14 

4,714 98 

1,830 55 

1,548,108 65 


1 ,440,539 81 

1 15,425 & 

30,469 8J 

20,523 41 

5,066 21 

2,31181 




1,614,336 4 



Tolls collected at some of the principal places on the Eriet 
Canal. 

Places of Collection. 1833. 1834. 



1835. 



1836. 



Albany, 
West Troy, 
TJtica, . 
Syracuse, 
Rochester, 
Palmyra, 
Lockport, 
Buffalo, 



323,689 88 
172,070 41 
55,063 97 
98,931 05 
168,452 37 
48,11796 
50,562 39 
73,812 79 



245,746 42 
132,035 02 
52,266 44 
83,550 63 
164,247 28 
51,056 54 
44,536 68 
91,203 44 



357,613 84 389,327 28!! 



153,459 78 
50,584 30 
74,756 29 

176,170 33 
40,181 28 
52,129 24 

106,213 35 



160,247 671' 
57,974 4011' 
56,767 22^: 

190,036 59' 
41,079 17 
38,199 69 

158,085 05 



Thus have we presented a rude outline of the progress of 
improvement from the period when the first road was laid 
out through Western New- York down to the present time, 
when the land is teeming with the rich fruits of an en- 
lightened policy — of which it would be difficult to furnish 
happier evidence than is afforded by the City of Ro- 
chester. 



STATISTICS OF ROCHESTER. 



Having in the preceding papers furnished some facts 
which it was thought might be interesting to the citizens re- 
specting the climate, soil, settlement, and productions of this 
western region generally, we will now devote our remarks 
more particularly to the City of Rochester. 

The various branches of information illustrative of the 
origin and condition of the city will be found arranged under 
appropriate captions. It is for the reader to determine 
whether these statements afford sufficient confirmation of our 
assertions in the outline sketch of Rochester with which this 
volume was commenced. 

Although the origin of Rochester may not be correctly 
dated before its incorporation under a village charter in 1817 
(the. difficulties connected with the war having prevented 
any considerable settlement for the first three or four years 
after it was "laid out"), it may not be uninteresting to pre- 
serve some records of the rude condition of the tract on 
which the city is built — records, for which we are indebted 
to the recollections of some of the pioneers and to the private 
journal of a statesman (De Witt Clinton), whose "first 
impressions" were noted in connexion with other particu- 
lars of the first exploring tour of the commissioners on the 
route of the Erie Canal. 

, With this preface we present some notices of the condition 
of things previous to the incorporation of the village of 
Uochester. r fhese "lowly annals" form an amusing con- 
trast to the record which the lapse of a single quarter century 
enables us to present respecting the same portion of territory. 



i Condition of Things in and around the Site of Rochester 
(previous to 1817). 

! The main road from Utica to Buffalo, passing across the 
Genesee at Avon by the only bridge then on the river, oc- 
casioned an extensive settlement of the lands in the imme* 



244 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

diate vicinity of that thoroughfare, while a large tract, of 
which Rochester is now the centre, was almost literally a 
wilderness. A few persons, however, penetraied northward 
between Avon and Lake Ontario as ealy as 1788-90. These 
were Israel and Simon Stone, who settled in what is now 
Pittsford ; and they were followed by Glover Perrin, who 
settled in and afterward gave a name to Perrinton ; and by 
Peter ShaefFer, who located on the flats of the Genesee, near 
where Scottsville stands, beside Allen's Creek — a stream 
named after " Indian Allen," who also resided there before 
building the first mill hereabout in 1790, as noticed in the 
account of " the Early Millers of the Genesee." 

Orange Stone settled in what is now called Brighton, about 
four miles from the Genesee, in 1790 ; and, in 1791, William 
Hincher took residence in the woods about the junction of 
the river with Lake Ontario. The two last-named person- 
ages lived twelve miles apart, and for several years without 
an intervening neighbour. Such was the eccentricity of 
Hincher, that he looked jealously upon new-comers, whose 
settlements might disturb the tranquillity of this "neighbour- 
hood." 

Respecting ShaefTer, Maude said in 1800, " This respecta- 
ble farmer lives off the road in a new boarded house, the 
only one of that description between New-Hartford [now 
Avon] and the mouth of the Genesee River, about twenty -five 
miles. ShaefTer is the oldest settler, Indian Allen excepted, 
on the Genesee River. When ShaefTer first settled on this 
river, about 1788, there were not more than four or five 
families settled between him and Fort Schuyler (Utica), a 
distance of 150 miles; and at this time, 1800, there is a 
continued line of settlements, including the towns of Cayuga, 
Geneva, Canadarqua, and the populous township of Bloom- 
field."* 

In 1796 Zadoc Granger and Gideon King settled at what 
was termed Genesee Landing, afterward Hanford's Land- 



* " Shaeffer's farm consists of 800 acres, 100 of which are a part of 
the celebrated Genesee Flats, which have their northern termination at 
this place. ShaefTer informed me that he paid seven dollars a barrel for r 
salt, and that six dollars was the usual price. This he considered as 
one of the greatest hardships of his situation ; for the inhabitants of the 
back country are not only under the necessity of salting their provisions, 
but of giving salt to their cattle ; to them so necessary that they could 
not live without it."— Maude, 1800. 



TOUR OP DE WITT CLINTON. 245 

r ng, sixteen years before the village of Rochester was pro- 
jected. (See article headed " Hanford's Landing.") 

Tour of Be Witt Clinton in 1810. 

The journal which De Witt Clinton kept while on an ex- 
ploring tour with the other Canal Commissioners, furnishes 
some notices of the country at and around the place where 
Rochester has since sprung into being. Through the po- 
iteness of the gentleman who is now preparing a memoir 
jwith the aid of the private papers) of the lamented states- 
nan, we have been permitted to copy from the journal the 
ibservations made by Mr. Clinton at that time. Under date 
,>f July, 1810, the journal (which is generally minute in its 
letails) thus mentions the approach to and departure west- 
ward from the Genesee River: 

"We crossed Gerundegut Creek at Mann's Mills, where 

dr. Geddes proposes a great embankment for his canal from 

he Genesee River to the head- waters of Mud Creek, and he 

rosses Gerundegut Creek here in order to attain the great- 

st elevation of ground on the other side. Adjacent to this 

dace were indications of iron ore and red ochre, which often 

ccompany each other. 

I " We arrived at the tavern at Perrin's, in the town of 

/loyle [now Perrinton], twenty-one miles from Canandaigua, 

)ur and a half from Gerundegut or Irondequoit Landing, and 

)urteen from Charlottesburgh. A vessel of thirty tons can 

('o to the head of this landing [from Lake Ontario; but the 

andbar at the mouth of the bay now prevents all intercourse 

f that sort]. The sign of the tavern contains masonic em- 

lems, and is by S. Felt & Co. Felt is a man in the land- 

urd's employ ; and the object of this masked sign is, as 

ie landlord says, to prevent his debtors from avoiding his 

'■ ouse. * * * We drew lots for the choice of beds ; and 

turning out in my favour, I chose the worst bed in the 

ouse. I was unable to sleep on account of the fleas, &e. 

* At this place we eat the celebrated whitefish salted ; 

is better than shad, and cost at Irondequoit Landing $12 

ier barrel. 

" We departed from here at seven o'clock, after breakfast ; 

nd after a ride of eight and a half miles, arrived at a ford of 

le Genesee River about half a mile from the Great Falls, 

nd seven and a half from Lake Ontario. This ford is one 

)ck of limestone. Just below it there is a fall of fourteen 

21* 



246 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

feet.* An excellent bridge of uncommon strength is now 
erecting at this place. We took a view of the Upper and 
Lower Falls. The first is ninety-seven, and the other is 
seventy-five feet. The banks on each side are higher than 
the falls, and appear to be composed of slate, but principally 
of red freestone. The descent of the water is perpendicular. 
The view is grand, considering the elevation of the bank and 
the smallness of the cataract or sheet of water. [Such was, 
in 1810, the aspect of the place where Rochester is built.] 

* From the ford to the lake is seven and a half miles ; 
" From the Great Falls to the lake is seven miles ; 

41 From the Great to the Lower Falls is one and a half 
miles ; 

" From the Lower Falls to Hanford's Tavern, where we i 
put up, is one and a half miles ; 

" From Hanford's to Charlottesburgh on the lake is four 
miles. 

* There is a good sloop navigation from the lake to the i 
Lower Falls [now called the Ontario Steamboat Landing in i 
Rochester]. These falls, as also those of Niagara, and 
perhaps of Oswego, are made by the same ridge or slope of 
land. The Genesee River, in former times, may have been 
dammed up at these falls, and have formed a vast lake cov- r 
ering all the Genesee Flats forty miles up. The navigation 4 
above the ford is good for small boats to the Canaseraga 
Creek, and ten miles above it, making altogether fifty miles. 

11 We dined and slept at Hanford's tavern, who is also a 
merchant, and carries on a considerable trade with Canada. I 
There is a great tradef between this country and Montreal 
in staves, potash, and flour. 

" 1 was informed by Mr. Hopkins, the officer of the cus- c 
toms here, that 1000 barrels of flour, 1000 do. of pork, 1000 
do. of potash, and upward of 100,000 staves, had been al- 
ready sent this season from here to Montreal ; that staves 
now sold there for $140 per thousand, and had one time 

* This is what is called in this work "the First Fall." (It might 
be better termed a rapid — but the place commonly called " the Rapids" , 
is about two miles up the river.) This " First Fall" is situate a few 
rods south of the Erie Canal Aqueduct ; and from the dam here built 
water is thrown into millraces on both sides of the river. There arc 
now (1837) three other dams across the river, supplying hydraulic powei 
on each side of the river within the city limits. 

•f It is amusing to contrast that "great trade of this country" wit! 
the present business of a single establishment in Rochester alone. 



FIRST PUBLIC WORK AT ROCHESTER. 247 

brought $400 ; that the expense of transporting 1000 staves 
from this place to Montreal is from $85 to $90 ; across the 
lake, from $45 to $50 ; that of a barrel of potash to Mon- 
treal, $2; pork, $2; flour, $1 25; but that the cheapness 
of this article is owing to competition, and is temporary. 

"A ton of goods can be transported from Canandaigua to 
Utica by land for $25 00. 

" Notwithstanding the rain, we visited in the afternoon 
the mouth of the river. On the left bank a village has been 
laid out by Col. Troup, the agent of the Pulteney Estate, 
and called Charlottesburgh, in compliment to his daughter. 
He has divided the land into one-acre lots. Each lot is sold 
at $10 per acre, on condition that the purchaser erects a 
house in a year. This place is in the town of Geneseo. The 
harbour here is good. The bar at the mouth varies from 
eight to eight and a half feet, and the channel is generally 
eleven feet. There were four lake vessels in it. We had 
an opportunity of seeing the lake in a storm, and it perfectly 
resembled its parent (the ocean) in the agitation, the roaring, 
and the violence of its waves." 

The first Public Work where Rochester now stands. 

The law authorizing the construction of a bridge across 
the Genesee where the main bridge of Rochester now stands, 
gave the first impulse to improvement at this point. 

Among those whose views were earliest turned to the 
tract whereon Rochester is founded was our respected fel- 
low-citizen Enos Stone, who, while yet in a green old age, 
has the satisfaction of beholding around him evidences of 
improvement which contrast strongly with the character be- 
stowed upon the place in the Legislature while the Bridge 
Bill was under consideration.* Mr. Stone had visited this 
region in 1794, but did not conclude on settling here till 
about 1807-8; and even then his removal from Massachu- 
setts hither depended on the question of constructing a 
bridge at this point. It was agreed that the settlers in Pitts- 
ford, Perrinton, <fcc, should petition the Legislature for an 
act authorizing the construction of the bridge ; and that Mr. 
Stone should forward the object by attending at Albany du- 
ring the session of that body. The bill for the purpose was 

* A son of Mr. Stone, born in 1810, was the first white person born 
on either of the tracts now included in the City of Rochester. 



24S SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

strongly opposed by some members as imposing an unne- 
cessary tax upon the people*. The bridge at Avon (nearly 
20 miles southward) was said to be sufficient for public ac- 
commodation, while it was alleged there was nothing in or 
about this point which required or would justify the erection 
of an additional bridge. " It is a God-forsaken place ! in- 
habited by muskrats, visited only by straggling trappers, 
through which neither man nor beast could gallop without 
fear of starvation or fever and ague !" Such was almost lit- 
erally the character by which the tract whereon Rochester 
now stands (for the place was nameless then) was stigma- 
tized in the New-York Legislature less than thirty years 
ago ! It is almost superfluous now to add, that the repre- 
sentation was considerably exaggerated, by local jealousy 
perhaps, though it is certain that the then prevalent im- 
pression was not favourable to this location with reference 
to salubrity. 

Although a portion of the tract on which Rochester stands 
was originally somewhat marshy, it would be difficult to find 
in or around any city an equal portion of territory abounding 
with locations for a large population more eligible on the 
score of health or beauty, as is obvious to those conversant 
with our localities and present bills of mortality. 

The bill authorizing the construction of the bridge became 
a law ; but so outrageous was it considered by many, that 
the " extravagant folly" of taxing the people for bridging in 
such an outlandish place was frequently reprobated during 
the ensuing political campaign in Ontario county. 

The bridge was commenced in the following year, 1810, 
and finished in 1812, at an expense of $12,000, taxed from 
the counties of Ontario and Genesee — the river being then 
the dividing line between those counties (Monroe County, 
of which Rochester is the chief town, not having been 
erected till the year 1821). The river had previously been 
forded at this place on the rocky bottom, a few rods south 
of the Canal Aqueduct, and near the site of the present jail. 
Accidents not unfrequently resulted from this mode of cross- 
ing the stream. In 1805, during the spring freshet, Messrs. 
Willis Kempshall and William Billinghurst, while crossing 
in a canoe rowed by William Cole (the only man then res- 
ident hereabout except Mr. Hanford), narrowly escaped be- 
ing hurried into eternity — one of the oars having broke, and 
the other being insufficient to guide the canoe across the 



INDIANS AT ROCHESTER. 249 

lood. Luckily, the branches projecting from Brown's Isl- 
md enabled them to arrest suddenly their bark, which an- 
)ther moment might have dashed over the awful cataract ! 
^ shocking catastrophe occurred in the spring of 1812, 
>efore the bridge was finished. A farmer, with his team and 
vagon, were destroyed by being swept over the falls (nearly 
i hundred feet high) from which Messrs. Kempshall, Bil- 
inghurst, and Cole had such a hairbreadth escape, and 
vhere Sam Patch afterward jumped into eternity while de- 
nonstrating his favourite maxim that " some things can be 
lone as well as others." 

At the time of the first settlements there were numerous 

amilies of Indians scattered around this place. Hot-bread, 

. worthy chief, with Tommy-jemmy, Captain Thompson, 

Jlackbird, and some other red men of note, spent part of 

heir time here ; and as late as 1813 one of the great pagan 

estivals (the Sacrifice of the Dog) was solemnized publicly 

.t the rising ground beside which the Bethel Church now 

tands. (See Account of the Religious and Social Institutions 

f Rochester.) " At that time, the swamps back of the 

Mansion House, where the new market now stands, and 

! round the bathing-house in Buffalo-street, between the 

ISagle Tavern and United States Hotel, were filled with 

abbits, partridges, and other game ; and deer might be seen 

Imost any day, by watching at the l Deer Lick,' about 

/here Reynolds and Bateham's Horticultural Establishment 

ow is, at the corner of Buffalo and Sophia streets ; and in 

813 my brother shot two deer where is now the heart of 

le city — one at the west end of the main bridge, the other 

j ear where Child's Buildings stand, opposite the Rochester 

i louse," says a friend, whose reminiscences are elsewhere 

5 cknowledged. 






Note. — Sketches of " first settlement" must necessarily 
artake largely of a personal character. As for Rochester 
wenty years ago, it would be rather difficult to say much 
/ithout referring to the few persons who then constituted the 
/hole population of the tract whereon is now flourishing one 
f the principal cities of the state. The enterprising pioneers 
f Rochester, who are yet mostly living among us, will there- 
Dre pardon the necessity which compels the chronicler to 



250 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

make them figure personally in these " annals of the olden 
time," in lieu of mayor, aldermen, and other high function- 
aries with which our goodly place is now dignified by virtue 
of an increased population and its city charter. 

The Scene in 1811-12.— The Bearfight. 

An adventure which occurred about this period has been 
employed in the frontispiece to illustrate the contempora- 
neous condition of this locality. The shantees there de- 
picted were the only frame dwellings then at this place. 
One of them was occupied by Isaac Stone, the other by 
Enos Stone. The singular fact that some of the early set- 
tlers were annoyed by wild beasts in 1812 should not be 
overlooked among the reminiscences connected with the 
" ancient days" of Rochester. A memorandum of the bear- 
fight, wherein the quadruped fought for life and the settler 
for the corn requisite to preserve his family from hunger, 
has been furnished by a friend to whom we are indebted for 
various facts concerning those " good old times :" 

" It was in the fall of 1811 that Enos Stone had a patch 
of corn, about six acres in extent. This cornpatch was on 
the east and south sides of his little dwelling, which stood 
near the bank of the river, beside the fording-place — for the 
bridge was yet unfinished. Provisions were exceedingly 
scarce, and not to be had at any price, except to prevent ; 
starvation. Mr. Stone looked upon his cornfield with anx- 
iety, knowing well the extent of his dependance upon it for ' 
the then approaching winter. Towards the ripening of the ! 
precious crop, he found that much would be lost from the j 
depredations of the wild beasts ; and at length he began to ■ 
tremble for the whole field, when he found that an old she- • 
bear had commenced devastations upon it, destroying far 
more than she devoured. For a while he kept her at bay by 
leaving out his dog ; till, at length, the imboldened bear 
would chase the dog even to the doorstep. Finding that i 
something must be done ; that he could not hope for half a { 
crop if such depredations continued ; and that he could not 
sleep with such an animal prowling about his dwelling, Mr. 
Stone turned out with a boy and a rusty gun to attack the 
intruder about two o'clock one morning. The bear then 
took refuge in a tree, whence she was soon dislodged by the 
smoke of a fire kindled beneath. She fell near Mr. Stone, 



FIRST SETTLEMENTS. 251 

and, after a short contest with him and his boy and dog, fled 
to another tree. She was dislodged from this and three 
other trees by kindling fires beneath — when, more powder 
being obtained from a neighbour (the first two shots proving 
ineffectual, and exhausting all his own powder), Mr. Stone 
had the satisfaction of seeing his annoyer disabled to such 
a degree as to fall from the tree. But, though fallen, the 
bear was ' unconquered still ;' and, when no longer able to 
stand, the ferocious brute fought upon her haunches, like 
that redoubtable soldier who, 

" ' When his legs were cutted off, did fight upon the stumps.' 

She kept the dog at bay, and parried the blows of her as- 
sailants with a degree of skill not unworthy of a profes- 
sional boxer. But her shaggy hide soon became the trophy 
frf him whose cornfield she had measurably devastated." 

Thus recently was slain, at a place which is now nearly 
central in a population of 20,000, the largest bear ever found 
in this region. The fact furnishes a striking illustration of 
he greatness and suddenness of the changes which the first 
settlers of Rochester have witnessed. 

First Allotment and Settlement. 

, The first allotments for a village were made in 1812 ; 
.vhen Nathaniel Rochester, Charles H.Carroll, and William 
^itzhugh surveyed the Hundred-acre Tract for settlement 
mder the name of " Rochester." The history of this tract is 
elsewhere particularly traced ; and it is sufficient now to say 
liat it was the same land which Phelps and Gorham deeded 
o Indian Allen in 1790, on consideration of having a mill 
•rected to accommodate the few settlers in the surrounding 
•ountry. It was part of the larger tract of twelve by twenty- 
pur miles on the west side of the Genesee, which Phelps 
nd Gorham had previously obtained from the Indians for 
he purposes of a millyard! It had passed from Allen into 
he possession of Sir William Pulteney — from the agent of 
vhose estate (Charles Williamson) it was purchased in 1802 
pie $17 T 5 / 7 per acre by the persons who thus made arrange- 
ments for founding a village upon it. This Hundred-acre 
^ract, as will be seen by the map of Rochester, lies directly 
,breast and west of the First Falls, from the dam at which 
7ater is now conveyed in races for valuable machinery on 
oth sides of the river. 



252 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

Other allotments for settlement were made during the 
same year. Immediately north of the Hundred-acre or 
Rochester Tract, Matthew and Francis Brown and Thomas 
Mumford bought and laid out the tract directly abreast and 
west of the main or Middle Falls, which are ninety-six feet 
high, and from a darn at which water is now thrown into 
races on both sides of the river. This tract was previously 
occupied by Mr. Hanford, who had a couple of loghouses, 
and likewise a little mill, which is noticed in connexion with • 
the Allen mill in the account of the "Early Millers of the 
Genesee." The allotment was called ** Frankfort," after the 
name of Francis Brown. Opposite this Frankfort Tract, and I 
on the east side of the Main Falls, Samuel f. Andrews and I 
Moses Atwater laid out a tract of considerable size during \ 
the same year — the millrace on which now derives water r 
from the same dam that supplies the Frankfort tract. 

[The farm of Enos Stone, whereon the bearfight occur- - 
red, was not divided into lots till 1817, when a portion of I 
it was included with the other tracts in the village corpora- ••' 
tion, and surveyed and subdivided by Elisha Johnson, a a 
purchaser from Mr. Stone. It lies on the west side of the e 
river at the First Fall, opposite the original Rochester Tract I 
— the same dam supplying water to the machinery on both h 
sides at that point.] 

The condition of these tracts at the period of these prepar- ■ 
atory arrangements may be inferred from the preceding re- 1 
marks by De Witt Clinton and others. The first dwelling c 
on the Rochester or Hundred-acre Tract was erected byj 
Hamlet Scrantom in 1812, where the Eagle Tavern now.' 
stands. During the same season, Ira West opened a small 1 
store of goods on the same tract, and Abelard Reynolds wasi: ! 
appointed postmaster. The whole receipts of the postoffice* 
for the first quarter fell short of three dollars and fifty cents. 5 1 
On the Stone farm, on the opposite side of the river, Isaac 
W. Stone opened a small tavern, which was the only one 
at Rochester for two or three years. This tavern was ones 1 
of the two little frame dwellings that existed hereabout in the; 
beginning of 1812 — as represented in the frontispiece of this 
work. [It yet remains — a frail monument of "ancient 
times" — in St. Paul's-street, opposite the second Methodist 
Church.] 

"In 1813 there were three houses built and occupied on 
the west side of the river," says an authentic account of 



EFFECTS OF THE LAST WAR. 253 

those primitive days. " The land where the county build- 
ings (courthouse, &c.) now stand was cleared, sown with 
wheat, and afterward used as a pasture." The first Pres- 
byterian and St. Luke's churches are also among the edi- 
fices which have been erected since in this pasture lot. Ex- 
cepting a millrace opened by Rochester & Co., there is no- 
thing further noticed of the progress of improvement in these 
parts in 1813. 

In 1814 some attempts were made to commence mercan- 
tile operations ; but that little improvement could have been 
iiade during that year, or for some time afterward, will 
ippear from the sequel. 

Effects of the last war with Great Britain in retarding the 

progress of Rochester. 
, The settlement of Rochester, commenced almost simul- 
aneously with the last war between this country and Great 
Britain, was almost wholly checked by the alarm created 
,>y the movements of the belligerents. The hostilities along 
,he Niagara caused a concentration of troops there, which left 
lefenceless this point, then comparatively unimportant. The 
inouth of the Genesee was therefore not unfrequently visited 
•y the British fleet under Sir James Yeo, commander of the 
jostile forces on Lake Ontario. The apprehension of attack 
■irevented many from settling here as they had designed, 
nd even caused the removal to more secure places of some 
vho had already located hereabout. 

] The distress of which the war was productive in this 
egion was vividly portrayed in 1814 by the " Committee of 
/afety and Relief" at Canandaigua, in a communication to 
:ie mayor and other citizens of New-York. Among the pa- 
.ers of the New-York Historical Society that communica- 
t on is preserved ; and from it a copy has been procured, the 
,isertion of which here may be excused by the fact that its 
•eneral statements are not inapplicable to the then condition 
f Rochester and its vicinity, threatened by the frequent ap- 
earance of the British fleet on the lake oft the mouth of the 
Genesee. The letter ran thus : 

" Canandaigua, 8th January, 1814. 

, '* Gentlemen — Niagara county, and that part of Genesee 

r hich lies west of Batavia, are completely depopulated. All 

le settlements, in a section of country forty miles square, 

22 



254 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

and which contained more than twelve thousand souls, are 
effectually broken up. These facts you are undoubtedly 
acquainted with ; but the distresses they have produced 
none but an eyewitness can thoroughly appreciate. Our 
roads are filled with people, many of whom have been re- 
duced from a state of competence and good prospects to the 
last degree of want and sorrow. So sudden was the blow 
by which they have been crushed, that no provision could~ 
be made either to elude or to meet it. The fugitives from 
Niagara county especially were dispersed under circum- 
stances of so much terror, that, in some cases, mothers find 
themselves wandering with strange children, and children 
are seen accompanied by such as have no other sympathies i 
with them than those of common sufferings. Of the families i 
thus separated all the members can never again meet in this i 
life ; for the same violence which has made them beggars has s 
deprived some of their heads and others of their branches. . 
Afflictions of the mind so deep as have been allotted to these 3 
unhappy people we cannot cure. They can probably be 3 
subdued only by his power who can wipe away all tears. . 
But shall we not endeavour to assuage them 1 To their r 
bodily wants we can certainly administer. The inhabitants 
of Canandaigua have made large contributions for their re- 
lief, in provisions, clothing, and money. And we have been n 
appointed, among other things, to solicit further relief fori 
them from our wealthy and liberal-minded fellow-citizens. 1 
In pursuance of this appointment, may we ask you, gentle-* 
men, to interest yourselves particularly in their behalf? We ( 
believe that no occasion has ever occurred in our country) 
which presented stronger claims upon individual benevo-) 
lence ; and we humbly trust that whoever is willing to< 
answer these claims will always entitle himself to the 
precious rewards of active charity. 

(Signed), " Wm. Shepard, Thad. Chapin, 
" Moses Atwater, N. Gorham, 
" Z. Seymour, Thos. Beals, 

" Myron Holley, Phineas P. Bates, 
" Committee of Safety and Relief." 

This letter was addressed to De Witt Clinton, then mayoi 
of New- York city, and to Col. Robert Troup, Gen. Clarkson 
John B. Coles, Thos. Morris, Moses Rogers, Robert Bo wne 
and Thomas Eddy. 



THREATENED NAVAL ATTACK. 255 

An endorsement appears on the letter, to the effect that 
*' resolutions proposed by the recorder ( Josiah Ogden 
Hoff.nan) were passed unanimously by the New-York cor- 
poration, granting $3000 for the relief of the sufferers," 
dated January 24, 1814. On the 18th of February the 
Legislature appropriated $50,000 " for the relief of the in- 
digent sufferers in the counties of Genesee and Niagara, in 
consequence of the invasion of the western frontier of the 
state, including the Tuscarora nation of Indians and the 
Canadian refugees : the money to be distributed by Graham 
Newell, William Wadsworth, and Joseph Ellicott." 

A serious alarm, attended by some amusing consequences, 
occurred in May, 1814, when Sir James Yeo, with a fleet 
of thirteen vessels of various sizes, appeared oft" the mouth 
of the Genesee, threatening the destruction of the rude im- 
provements in and around Rochester. Messengers were 
despatched to arouse the people in the surrounding country 
for defence against the threatened attack. There were then 
but thirty-three people in Rochester capable of bearing 
arms. This little band threw up a breastwork called Fort 
Bender, near the Deep Hollow, beside the Lower Falls, and 
hurried down to the junction of the Genesee and Lake On- 
tario, five miles north of the present city limits, where the 
enemy threatened to land ; leaving behind them two old 
men, with some young lads, to remove the women and chil- 
dren into the woods, in case the British should attempt to 
land for the capture of the provisions and destruction of the 
bridge at Rochester, &c. Francis Brown and Elisha Ely 
acted as captains, and Isaac W. Stone as major, of the Ro- 
chester forces, which were strengthened by the additions 
that could be made from this thinly-settled region. Though 
the equipments and discipline of these troops would not 
form a brilliant picture for a warlike eye, their very awk- 
wardness in those points, coupled as it was with their saga- 
city and courage, accomplished more perhaps than could have 
been effected by a larger force of regular troops bedizzened 
'with the trappings of military pomp. The militia thus hast- 
ily collected were marched and countermarched, disappear- 
ing in the woods at one point and suddenly emerging else- 
where, so as to impress the enemy with the belief that the 
force collected for defence was far greater than it actually 
was. (The circumstances here related are substantially as 
mentioned to the writer by one who was then and is now 



256 SKETCHES OP ROCHESTER, ETC. 

a resident of Rochester.) An officer with a flag of truce 
was sent from the British fleet. A militia officer marched 
down, with ten of the most soldierlike men, to receive him 
on Lighthouse Point. These militiamen carried their guns 
as nearly upright as might be consistent with their plan 
of being ready for action by keeping hold of the triggers! 
The British officer was astonished : he " looked unutterable 
things." "Sir," said he, "do you receive a flag of truce 
under arms, with cocked triggers?" "Excuse me, excuse 
me, sir : we backwoodsmen are not well versed in military 
tactics," replied the American officer, who promptly sought 
to rectify his error by ordering his men to "ground arms!" 
The Briton was still more astonished ; and, after delivering a 
brief message, immediately departed for the fleet, indica- 
ting by his countenance a suspicion that the ignorance of 
tactics which he had witnessed was all feigned for the oc- 
casion, so as to deceive the British commodore into a snare! 
Shortly afterward, on the same day, another officer came 
ashore with a flag of truce for farther parley, as the British 
were evidently too suspicious of stratagem to attempt a hos- 
tile landing if there was any possibility of compromising for 
the spoils. Capt. Francis Brown was deputed with a guard 
to receive the last flag of truce. The British officer looked 
suspiciously upon him and upon his guard ; and, after some 
conversation, familiarly grasped the pantaloons of Capt. B. 
about the knee, remarking, as he firmly handled it, '• Your 
cloth is too good to be spoiled by such a bungling tailor ;" 
alluding to the width and clumsy aspect of that garment. 
Brown was quickwitted as well as resolute, and replied 
jocosely that " he was prevented from dressing fashionably 
by his haste that morning to salute such distinguished vis- 
iters !" The Briton obviously imagined that Brown was a 
regular officer of the American army, whose regimentals 
were masked by clumsy overclothes. The proposition was 
then made, that, if the Americans would deliver up the pro- 
visions and military stores which might be in and around 
Rochester or Charlotte, Sir James Yeo would spare the 
settlements from destruction. " Will you comply with the 
offer ?" " Blood knee-deep first .'" was the emphatic reply 
of Francis Brown. 

"While this parley was in progress, an American officer, 
with his staff, returning from the Niagara frontier, was ac- 
cidentally seen passing from one wooded point to another ; j 



THE CLOSE OF THE WAR. 257 

and this, with other circumstances, afforded to the British 
"confirmation strong" that their suspicions were well found- 
ed ; that there was a considerable American army collected ; 
and that the Yankee officers shammed ignorance for the 
purpose of entrapping ashore the commodore and his forces ! 
, The return of the last flag to the fleet was followed by a 
vigorous attack in bombs and balls, while the compliment 
was spiritedly returned, not without some effect on at least 
one of the vessels, by a rusty old six-pounder, which had 
been furbished and mounted on a log for the important oc- 
casion. After a few hours spent in this unavailing manner, 
Admiral Yeo run down to Pulteneyville, about 20 miles 
eastward of Genesee River, where, on learning how they 
had been outwitted and deterred from landing by such a 
handful of militia, their mortification could scarcely restrain 
all hands from a hearty laugh at the " Yankee trick," 

The Close of the War 

Permitted the checked tide of improvement to roll onward 
again. 

In 1815, Hervey Ely, Josiah Bissell, and Elisha Ely 
finished the " red mill" (afterward called the Hydraulic 
Building, and now burnt). Samuel Hildreth, of Pittsford, 
commenced running a stage with a mail twice a week be- 
tween Rochester and Canandaigua ; and a private weekly 
luailroute was established between Rochester and Lewis- 
,on, dependant for support on the income of the postoffices 
m the route. 

! In 1816, the first religious society (Presbyterian) was 
,'ornied, consisting of 16 members — a small paper called the 
Rochester Gazette was commenced — a millrace was fin- 
shed by Brown and Mum ford, and a cotton factory was 
'jommenced on the Frankfort Tract — a tavern was opened by 
Vbelard Reynolds on the Hundred-acre Tract, Buffalo-street 
'—a commencement was made in the business of purchasing 
,iroduce from the neighbouring country. The population, 
.umbering 331 at the beginning of the year, was not ascer- 
ained at the close. 

\ Thus have we traced all that we find worthy of notice as 
lustrative of the condition of the place previous to the act 
y which was created 

22* 



258 SKETCHES OP ROCHESTER, ETC. 

The Village of Rochesterville in 1817 — 

From which period the commencement of Rochester may 
be fairly dated, the difficulties interposed by the war having 
prevented any considerable improvement before the year 
1816. The improvement of the place in various ways be- 
tween that period and the year 1837 — forming the first score : 
of years since the place was lawfully organized under a i 
village charter — are sketched under appropriate heads. We 
preface the account by some notices of the proceedings of 
the Corporation, under the village and city charters, between 
the years 1817 and 1837 — the first twenty years. 

Corporation of Rochester. 
(The persons marked thus * are dead — the absent thus f.) 

1817. June 10. The first board of trustees elected under r 
the village charier consisted of Francis Brown,* President; ;', 
William Cobb * Everard Peck, Daniel Mack,t Jehiel Bar- 1 
nard. Hastings R. Bender, Clerk ; Frederic F. Backus, i 
Treasurer. 

First fire company formed, October 9, 1817. 

1818. May. The election resulted in the choice ofFran-i'i 
cis Brown, Daniel Mack, Everard Peck, Isaac Colvin,| Iras 
West.* Mr. Brown, President ; Moses Chapin, Clerk ; i 
Frederic F. Backus, Treasurer. 

1819. No election held — the old trustees continued in of-f 
fice. The name of the village corporation was changed* 
from " Rochesterville" to " Rochester," the original name,e 
by an act of the Legislature. 

1820. The new board consisted of Matthew Brown, Jr.,\ 
Moses Chapin, William Cobb, Charles J. Hill, Elisha Tay-y 
lor.* M. Brown, Jr., President; Moses Chapin, Clerk?! 
F. F. Backus, Treasurer. 

1821. The only change in the board consisted in the; j 
choice of Warbam Whitney in place of VV. Cobb, deceased. 

1822. The board consisted of M. Brown, Jr., President. 
H. R. Bender,t Charles J. Hill, S. Melancton Smith/ 
Warham Whitney. H. R. Bender, Clerk ; F. F. Backus; 
Treasurer. 

1823. M. Brown, Jr., President; Jacob Graves, Willian 
P. Sherman,* Abner Wakelee, S. M. Smith. Rufus Beach,' 
Clerk ; F. F. Backus, Treasurer. 

1824. John W. Strong,! President ; Warham Whitney 






CORPORATION OF ROCHESTER. 259 

Anson Coleman,* Jonathan Packard, Ashbel W. Riley. 
R. Beach, Clerk ; F. F. Backus, Treasurer. 

1825. The powers granted to the village corporation 
'were found to be inadequate to a good police regulation ; 
and the question was agitated during the fall, whether ap- 
plication should be made for a city charter, instead of apply- 
ing for an increase of power to the old corporation ; but, 
; ifter considerable discussion, the project of a city charter 
Was declined by the people, and the Legislature amended 
'he village charter by vesting ampler powers in the board of 
trustees. 

1825. M. Brown, Jr., President; Phelps Smith,* Frederic 
Starr, William Rathbun,f Gilbert Evernghim.* R. Beach, 
31erk ; F. F. Backus, Treasurer. 

1826. First election under a new village charter. The 
.'illage divided into five wards. Trustees elected : first ward, 
Nm. Brewster; second, M. Brown, Jr. ; third, Vincent Mat- 
hews; fourth, John Mastiok ;* fifth, Giles Boulton.f Rufus 
ieach, Clerk; F. F. Backus, Treasurer; Raphael Beach, 
Nonstable and Collector. The president was M. Brown, Jr. 

1827. First ward, Frederic Whittlesey ; second, Ezra 
A. Parsons; third, Jonathan Child; fourth, Elisha Johnson; 
■fth, A. V. T. Leavitt. Elisha Johnson, President; Rufus 
*each, Clerk; John B. Elwood, Treasurer; Stephen Sy- 
rionds,t Collector. 

I 1828. First ward, Ebenezer Ely ; second, E. M. Parsons ; 
lird, Ephraim Moore ; fourth, Elisha Johnson ; fifth, Na- 
naniel Rossiter.f E.Johnson, President; F. Whittlesey, 
"lerk; F. F. Backus, Treasurer; D. D. Hatch,* Collector. 
• 1829. First ward, John Haywood ; second, S. S. Allcott;f 
ilird, Robert L. M'Collum ; fourth, Elisha Johnson ; fifth, 
Vm. H. Ward. E. Johnson, President ; Hestor L. Ste- 
ens, Clerk ; Seth Saxton,* Treasurer ; Robert H. Stevens,! 
Collector. 

i 1830. First ward, William Pease ;f second, Joseph Med- 
lery ; third, Jonathan Child, in place of J. Packard, declined; 
>urth, Adonijah Green; fifth, H. Bissell. J. Medbery, 
resident; Samuel L. Selden and Isaac R. Elwood, Clerks ; 
eth Saxton, Treasurer ; A. Newton, Collector. 
1831. First ward, Rufus Meech ; second, M. Brown, Jr. ; 
iird, Jacob Thorn; fourth, Harvey Humphrey; fifth, N. 
ossiter (President). A. W. Stowe, Clerk; Eben. Ely, 
reasurer ; Lester Beardslee,* Collector. 



260 SKETCHES OP ROCHESTER, ETC. 

1832. First ward, Samuel L. Selden ; second, William 
Rathbun ;t third, Jacob Thorn ; fourth, Daniel Tinker ; fifth, 
Orrin E. Gibbs. J. Thorn, President ; A. W. Stowe, Clerk; 
Eben. Ely, Treasurer ; Seth Simmons,! Collector. 

1833. First ward, Wm. E. Lathrop ; second, Fletcher M. 
Haight; third, E. F. Marshall; fourth, Daniel Tinker;! 
fifth, N. Draper. F. M. Haight, President; Isaac R. El- 
wood, Clerk ; Ebenezer Watts, Treasurer ; James Caldwell, 
Collector. 

First election under the City Charter. 

1834. After several applications made to the Legislature, 
and after controversies respecting the mode of appointing ; 
justices of the peace had defeated the passage of an act for : 
the purpose at the previous session, the City of Rochester t 
was chartered in the spring of 1834. 

On the incorporation of the village in 1817, about 750 I 
acres were included within its limits. The city charter in i 
1834 extended the bounds so as to embrace upward of four r 
thousand acres. For a considerable distance in the northern l 
part, the city includes a comparatively narrow strip on both l 
sides of the river — being thus extended northward so as to ; 
comprehend the Lower Falls and the Ontario Steamboat t 
Landing — as may be seen by the map of the city presented 1 
in this volume. The lands thus brought under the jurisdic- •' 
tion of the corporation was part of the Carthage Tract on i 
the east and the M'Cracken Tract on the west side of the j 
Lower Falls and Steamboat Landing ; notices of which i 
tracts are elsewhere given. 

1834. June. Three supervisors were elected by general 1 
ticket, viz., Erasmus D. Smith, Abraham M. Schermerhorn, . 
and Horace Hooker. The aldermen and assistants were — 

First ward, Lewis Brooks, Alderman ; John Jones, As- 
sistant. 

Second, Thomas Kempshall, Alderman ; Elijah F. Smith, 
Assistant. 

Third, Frederic F. Backus, Alderman ; Jacob Thorn, 
Assistant. 

Fourth, A. W. Riley, Alderman ; Lansing B. Swan, As- 
sistant. 

Fifth, Jacob Graves, Alderman ; Henry Kennedy,! As- 
sistant. 

The first mayor elected by this board was Jonathan i. 



OFFICERS OF THE CITY. 261 

Child ; Vincent Matthews, Attorney and Counsel ; Samuel 
! Works,f Superintendent; John C. Nash, Clerk; E. F. 
Marshall, Treasurer ; William H. Ward, Chief Engineer. 

1835. The supervisors elected were Joseph Medbery, 
Charles J. Hill, Jared Newell. The aldermen and assist- 
ants were — 

First ward, Hestor L. Stevens, William E. Lathrop. 

Second, M. Brown, Jr., J. H. Blanchard. 

Third, James Seymour, Erastus Cook. 

Fourth, Joseph Halsey, Nathaniel Bingham. 

Fifth, Isaac R. Elwood, Butler Bardwell. 

Jacob Gould was chosen Mayor ; Ashley Samson, Attor- 
ney and Counsel ; Kilian H. Van Rensselaer, Superintend- 
ent ; Theodore Sedgwick,f Treasurer; Ariel Wentworth, 
'^lerk; William H. Ward, Chief Engineer ; L. B. King, 
Marshal. 

1836. March. An amendment to the charter allowed a 
lupervisor to be chosen in each ward. There were elected, 
1 First ward, Maltby Strong, Supervisor ; A. S. Alexander,* 
Llderman ; J. Haywood, Assistant. 

Second ward, Joseph Medbery, Supervisor ; Warham 
Vhitney, Alderman ; Joseph Alleyn, Assistant. 

Third ward, Thomas H. Rochester, Supervisor ; Joseph 
Strong, Alderman ; Jonathan Packard, Assistant. 

Fourth ward, Elisha Johnson, Supervisor ; Manly G. 
yoodbury, Alderman ; Mitchel Loder, Assistant. 

Fifth ward, Elisha B. Strong, Supervisor; William H. 
yard, Alderman ; David Scoville, Assistant. 

Abraham M. Schermerhorn was elected mayor, and on 

s resignation in a few weeks Thomas Kempshall was 

ected to the vacant mayoralty. William S. Bishop, At- 

rney and Counsel; Theodore Chapin, Superintendent; 
atrick G. Buchan and Jasper W. Gilbert, Clerks ; Erasmus 
L Smith, Treasurer; Theodore Chapin, Chief Engineer; 

>seph Putnam, Marshal. 

! 1837. The elections resulted in the choice of the follow- 

;g persons : 

First ward, Lyman B. Langworthy, Supervisor; Hestor 
- Stevens, Alderman ; Kilian H. Van Rensselaer, As- 
stant. 

Second ward, John Williams, Supervisor; Sylvester H. 
lickard, Alderman ; W. Barron Williams, Assistant. 

Third ward, Thomas H. Rochester, Supervisor ; Joseph 
Srong, Alderman ; John Hawkes, Assistant. 



262 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

Fourth ward, James H. Gregory, Supervisor ; M. G. 
Woodbury, Alderman ; Schuyler Moses, Assistant. 

Fifth ward, Jared Newell, Supervisor ; Lewis K. Faulk- 
ner, Alderman ; James Williams, Assistant. 

Elisha Johnson was elected mayor ; Ashley Samson, 
Attorney and Counsel ; Isaac R. Elwood, Clerk ; Alfred 
Judson, Chief Engineer ; Lucius B. King, Marshal. 

1838. Another amendment of the city charter abolished 
the distinction of alderman and assistant, and provided that 
the aldermen should be divided into two classes, one of 
which should be elected for two years, and the other for 
one year. The elections resulted in the choice of the fol- 
lowing persons : 

1838. March. First ward, Thomas J. Patterson, Super- 
visor ; Abelard Reynolds and Stephen Charles, Aldermen. 

Second ward, Elijah F. Smith, Supervisor; John Allen i 
and J. F. Mack, Aldermen. 

Third ward, E. D. Smith, Supervisor; Joseph Strong [ 
and John D. Havvkes, Aldermen. 

Fourth ward, Thomas Kempshall, Supervisor; Eliasi: 
Pond and M. Warner, Aldermen. 

Fifth ward, Horace Hooker, Supervisor; Samuel G. An-1 
drews and Orrin E. Gibbs, Aldermen. 

Frederic Whittlesey, Attorney and Counsel ; Theodorer 
B. Hamilton, Clerk ; Elisha F. Marshall, Treasurer ; andi<: 
Pardon D. Wright, Superintendent. 

Isaac Hills is now, and has been since the first organiza-? 1 
tion under the city charter, recorder of the city. 

The clerks of the Mayor's Court have been Jasper W.V 
Gilbert, from July, 1834, to July, 1835 ; Patrick G. Buchan,.i' 
from July, 1835, to July, 1836 ; and Hiram Leonard, from* 
that period, the present incumbent. 



THE MAYORS OF ROCHESTER. 

Jonathan Child, Mayor. — 1834-5. 



■ \\ 



The organization of Rochester under the city charter oc 
curred in June, 1834. The election for supervisors, al 
dermen, and certain other officers, took place on the secon 
day of that month, as already stated. 



THE MAYORS OF ROCHESTER. 263 

The Common Council, on the ninth, elected Jonathan 
Child as mayor of the city. At the inauguration on the 
following day, the mayor, after referring to the spirit in 
which the affairs of the corporation should be conducted, 
made some appropriate remarks on the growth and pros- 
perity of the city. 

u The rapid progress which < ur place has made, from a 
wilderness to an incorporated city," said the mayor, " au- 
thorizes each of our citizens proudly to reflect upon the 
agency he has had in bringing about this great and inter- 
esting change. Rochester, we all know, has had little aid 
.in its permanent improvement from foreign capital. It has 
seen settled and built, for the most part, by mechanics and 
.merchants, whose capital was economy, industry, and per- 
severance. It is their labour and skill which has converted 
i wilderness into a city ; and to them surely this must be a 
lay of pride and joy. They have founded and reared a city 
)efore they have passed the meridian of life. In other 
;ountries and times, the City of Rochester would have been 
,he result of the labour and accumulations of successive 
generations ; but the men who felled the forest that 
prew on the spot where we are assembled, are sitting at 
the council-board of our city. Well then may we in- 
lulge an honest pride as we look back upon our history, and 
et the review elevate our hopes and animate our exertions. 
Together we have struggled through the hardships of an 
nfant settlement and the embarrassments of straitened 
ircumstances ; and together let us rejoice and be happy in 
he glorious reward that has crowned our labours. We 
ave no conflicting interests — we ought to have no hostile 
Wlings. The competition of business or the ardour of 
olitical excitement may for a moment arouse unfriendly 
entiments ; but we should be as unwise as it regards our 
wn happiness, as we should be unjust to those with whom 
re differ, should we permit such sentiments to survive the 
ontest which gave them birth. Conscious ourselves in 
ublic concerns of an honest zeal for the public good, let us 
oncede to others the same integrity of purpose, and ascribe 
ur different opinions to the different points from which we 
xamine the same subject. In the intercourse of social life, 
ad on all occasions involving the interests of our new city, 
;t us forget our politics and our party, and remember only 
tat our friends and fellow-citizens have conferred upon us 



264 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

confidence and power for tjie sole purpose of advancing the 
public good. Surely, in the prosperity of our young city, 
we have a common interest. Here the fortunes of us all 
are embarked in a common bottom, and it cannot be too 
much to expect a union of counsels and exertions to secure 
their safety. 

" Gentlemen — The charter of incorporation invests the 
Common Council with powers demanding the exercise of 
all our wisdom, industry, and justice. The appointment of 
nearly all the officers exercising civil power within the 
boundaries of the city is devolved upon you ; the power of 
raising and expending annually a large amount of money; 
the organization of the city police ; and, for the most part, the i 
administration of justice within the city limits. In all these i 
various duties I pledge the Common Council my cordial i 
co-operation. 

" The charter has made it the duty of the mayor to take t 
care that the laws of the state and the ordinances of the ( 
Common Council be faithfully executed ; to exercise a con- 1 
stant supervision and control over the subordinate officers; 
to hear and examine all complaints of neglect of duty ; to I 
recommend such measures as shall be deemed expedient;, 
to execute all such as shall be resolved upon by them ; and, i 
in general, to maintain the peace and good order, and ad- 1 
vance the prosperity of the city. With full purpose to dis-s 
charge these important trusts with the exercise of my bests 
understanding, 1 now enter upon the duties of the office your 1 
have conferred upon me." 

On the 23d of June, in the following year, soon after ther 
election of a new Common Council, iMr. Child presented? 
his resignation of the mayoralty. This resignation was ac-r 
companied by reasons therefor, which referred wholly to theh 
conflicting views entertained by himself and the Common? 
Council respecting the licensing of groceries and taverns toi 
sell spirituous liquors. (It will be recollected that the yearly 
term of the mayoralty commences in January, while that o\ 
the council commences in June — the design of this arrange- 
ment being that there should be at least one member ir 
every successive council familiar with the proceedings© 
the Corporation.) In his letter of resignation, after referring 
to the fact that a majority of the newly-elected counci 
differed from him on the license question, Mr. C. mentione( 
that, although the former board were opposed to licensing 



THE MAYORS OF ROCHESTER. 265 

in general, four grocers had been licensed to sell ardent 
spirits ; and that the controlling motive in that body for thus 
deviating from their intention to refuse licenses was expe- 
diency. " They supposed," he said, " that a gradual reform 
on their part would meet the general sentiment better than a 
plenary and absolute refusal. As a member of the board, I 
differed from my associates, both as to the propriety and expe- 
diency of making any exceptions. On that occasion, howev- 
er, I sacrificed my own judgment and feelings to the desires of 
the majority, and therefore stand liable in my official capacity 
for a share Of any censure, whether deserved or misapplied, 
which may be cast on the late board. But as an individual, 
both then and since, I have constantly objected to that meas- 
ure, and to every approach to it in the issuing of grocers' 
iicenses." 

After stating that the new board had granted numerous 
licenses, Mr. Child added, " It becomes incumbent on me, 
in my official character, to sanction and sign these papers. 
[ do not, gentlemen, impugn in any respect directly or im- 
pliedly your motives or judgment in acceding to these and 
pimilar applications ; but I am constrained to act according 
; o my own solemn convictions of moral duty and estimation 
of legal right in all cases connected with the office intrusted 
: o me. When I find myself so situated in my official sta- 
; ion as to be obliged either on the one hand to violate these 
ligh obligations, or on the other to stand in opposition to the 
declared wishes of a large majority of the board, and 
hrough them of their constituents — my valued friends and 
ellow-citizens — I dare not retain the public station which 
xposes me to this unhappy dilemma. Under these cir- 
umstances, it seems to me equally the claim of moral duty 
nd self-respect, of a consistent regard to my former asso- 
iates, of just deference to the present board, and of sub- 
lission to the supposed will of the people, that I should no 
>nger retain the responsible situation with which I have 
een honoured. I therefore now most respectfully resign into 
our hands the office of Mayor of the City of Rochester." 
The communication of the mayor was referred to a commit- 
ie consisting of Aldermen Matthew Brown, H. L. Stevens, 
id Isaac R. Elwood. At the same time, on motion of Aid. 
flwood, it was resolved, " that the recorder be authorized 
t sign all tavern licenses and grocery licenses granted by 
jiis board during the time the present incumbent shall hold 

23 



266 SKETCHES OP ROCHESTER, ETC. 

the office of mayor of the city." At the next meeting of 
the Corporation the committee reported respecting the com- 
munication by which the resignation of the mayor was ac- 
companied. As illustrative of the spirit of the time, as 
well as from its connexion with the history of the city, the 
grounds of this difference between the mayor and council 
may be briefly presented here in the language of the respect- 
ive parties. In reply to the language of the mayor, partly 
quoted above, the committee, among other things, observed 
that — 

" Your committee, claiming to be considered as friends to the cause of 
* temperance,' differ, as they believe a majority of this board, as well 
as a large majority of the citizens of this city do, from some of the lead- • 
ing measures which have been pursued with great energy and zeal, and, , 
as they doubt not, with sincerity, by many of the friends of the ' tern- • 
perance cause.' 

" They have always believed, and that belief is strengthened by expe- •' 
rience, that intemperance is not to be prevented or eradicated by means ; 
of our present legislative enactments upon the subject of ' Excise and i\ 
the regulations of taverns and groceries,' and which are the only laws s, 
upon the subject ; nor by any course of policy that can be pursued <" 
based upon these enactments. 

" Your committee assume that to traffic in ardent spirits is legitimately ;j 
the natural right of every man who sees fit to do so, although the expe- .\ 
diency of the thing may be well doubted ; and the Legislature have ■■. 
virtually recognised this natural right ; but, at the same time, to prevent 1 
the evils which might grow out of it, and also to raise a revenue from the i 
consumption of ardent spirit, they have subjected the traffic in it to I 
certain restrictions, which restrictions are defined in the statute, andj' 
are familiar to almost every person ; and they have also provided 
Boards of Excise, of which this Board of Common Council is one,< 
whose duty it is to impose restrictions, but not to make them ; and who, i 
as has been well said by the former attorney and counsel of this board, i 
'cannot legislate upon this subject.' 

"Anything which savours of restraint in what men deem their natural- 
rights is sure to meet with opposition, and men convinced of error byi 
force will most likely continue all their lives unconvinced in their rea- 
son. Whatever shall be done to stay the tide of intemperance, and 
roll back its destroying wave, must be done by suasive appeals to the 1 
reason, the interest, or the pride of men ; but not by force. 

" Persuasion, gentle as the dews of heaven, must speak of 'buried 
hopes and prospects faded,' of ruined fortunes, broken hearts, and ( 
desolated homes. Fashion, too, must be brought in, to exercise hei 
all-powerful influence over deluded man, and to restrain him from mora' 
pollution and the yawning gulf of perdition ; but every effort to re 
strain or reform him by our present laws must prove not only ineffec 
tual, but injurious. 

" In reviewing the communication of his Honour the Mayor, your com 
mittee do not consider the cause assigned sufficient to justify the cours< 
he has pursued, nor can they think a resignation was necessary to pre 



THE MAYORS OF ROCHESTER. 267 

vent a sacrifice of principle, or a compromise of duty on his part, upon 
the subject of granting licenses. In the discharge of his duty relating 
to licenses ; he could only be required to do a mere ministerial act, 
which might as well be performed by any other officer of the board, and 
which would not subject him at all to any responsibility as to the legal- 
ity or propriety of granting the license. The Board of Common Coun- 
cil are alone the Board of Excise ; and the mayor, not being entitled to 
a vote in that body, is, of course, in no wise responsible for their acts ; 
nor is he even obliged to sanction the granting of licenses by the for- 
mality of affixing his name to such licenses. 

" At all events, your committee consider the mayor as acting in over- 
haste in taking this step, until he had ascertained whether the board 
were willing to exonerate him from the only agency he could have in 
granting licenses, the formality of his name, and which they have al- 
ready done." 

Jacob Gould, Mayor— 1835-6. 

On the second of July, 1835, Jacob Gould was chosen as 
the successor of Mr. Child in the mayoralty. In his inau- 
gural remarks, reference was made to the circumstances at- 
tending the conflicting views between the Common Council 
and the former mayor — to the feelings with which he ac- 
cepted the office conferred on him unsought and unex- 
pectedly — and to his determination to place it in the power 
of the board to elect another mayor whose term should com- 
mence with the ensuing 1st of January, the time contem- 
plated by the charter — relinquishing the right which he pos- 
sessed, or was supposed to possess, to hold the office for a 
ivear from the period when he was elected to fill a vacancy 
occasioned by resignation. Although, considering that the 
'council, as a board of excise, had no right to refuse license 
to persons applying therefor in compliance with law, Gen. 
Gould urged that the strictest measures should be adopted 
for preventing or remedying abuses flowing from violations 
of law. 

In the January of 1836 Gen. Gould was re-elected to the 
imayoralty. In retiring from the office at the close of that 
year, he alluded to some facts strongly characteristic of the 
'condition of the city. After referring to the great improve- 
ment and general prosperity of Rochester, he said — 

" Our city has also been remarkably distinguished for peace and good 
order, and happily delivered from the fire that devours the property, and 
from the pestilence that destroys the lives of our citizens. During the 
period of my office, nearly two years, I wish it to be remembered as a 
most extraordinary, and to me most gratifying fact, that with a popu- 
lation averaging 16,000, I have never been called upon to interfere, nor 
has there ever been occasion to do so, for the suppression of riot, mob, 



268 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

tumult, or even an ordinary case of assault. This fact speaks a most 
gratifying eulogy for our civit and religious institutions, and for the 
intelligence and morality of the community in which we live." 

It should be remembered that this statement refers to a 
period within which too many cities and towns of the Union 
were disgraced by riots on several exciting topics — particu- 
larly on the abolition question. 

A. M. Schermerhorn, Mayor — 1837. 

Abraham M. Schermerhorn was elected mayor for the 
term commencing with the first of January, 1837. Mr. S. 
held the office about two months, when he resigned. To 
fill the vacancy thus occasioned, the choice of the Common 
Council fell upon 

Thomas Kempshall. 

The election of this gentleman occurred on the 7th ofi 
March, 1837. The changes which occurred during his resi- 
dence in the place were briefly noticed in his inaugural ad-! 1 
dress to the Common Council. 

" In accepting the office to which your partiality has called me, ini I 
consequence of the resignation of our esteemed fellow-citizen, Mr. 
Schermerhorn, I cannot refrain from alluding to the fact that, since my 
residence in this place, it has grown up from a mere hamlet to its pres- i 
entsize and prosperous condition. Though it then contained but about 
twenty buildings, and those of the rudest character, the streets very fewvH 
of them laid out, and the country about it a perfect wilderness, we< I 
now behold a flourishing city, with about 18,000 inhabitants. Thisi-j 
rapid increase and improvement is owing not only to the peculiar locaiajl 
advantages we enjoy, but in some measure at least maybe attribute^! 
to the industry, enterprise, and moral virtue of our citizens." 

It is a remarkable fact, that, notwithstanding all the pecu-j'j 
niary difficulties of the lime, the general improvement of the]' 
city was scarcely ever greater in one year than during thfifl, 
summer and fall of 1837. Reference to the improvements 1 
of this and previous years is made in the inaugural remark^;! 1 
of the gentleman who succeeded to the mayoralty on the Is I 
of January, 1838 — Mr. Kempshall having placed it in th< I 
power of the Common Council to elect a new mayor, insteai j 
of holding on for a full term from the period of his election | 

Elisha Johnson, Mayor — 1838. 

On the retirement of Mr. Kempshall, Elisha Johnsoi I 
was elected to the mayoralty. In assuming the office, Mr 



THE MAYORS OP ROCHESTER. 269 

J. made some remarks on the past and present condition of 
this region, the insertion of which may not be deemed ir- 
relevant here. 

" The long period of my residence in your city," said Mr. J., " might 
well create in me strong bonds of sympathy with your fortunes and at- 
tachment to your interests ; but when I look back to that time when I 
saw the present site of your city a wilderness, when I retrace the com- 
mencement and progress of her growth, and when I behold her now, 
with her twenty thousand inhabitants, famed for their general enterprise 
and industry, and enjoying all the blessings of an enlightened, re- 
fined, moral, civil, and social community ; and when with pride I reflect 
that, from the earliest period of her growth, my own feelings, fortunes, 
and exertions have been deeply enlisted in augmenting her resources, 
in improving and applying to natural objects her natural advantages, and 
in her general welfare ; when I indulge in these associations, there 
arises in me a feeling which strengthens that bond which binds me to 
your interests, and enables me to enter upon the duties of my office with 
a higher and bolder ambition for your future prosperity. 

" For the last three years, your public improvements have assumed a 
new character, arising from the full powers of a city charter — the in- 
crease of population and the accumulated wealth of your trade, com- 
merce, and manufactures. To the constituted authorities of this city, 
for their enlarged views in projecting and executing those works which 
the new charter of the city required, much credit is due. The im- 
provement of the streets, the full equipment of an effective fire depart- 
ment, the erection of a public market, and many valuable minor works, 
[testify with what efficiency they have discharged the duties of their sta- 
tions, and will, as works of ornament and utility to the city, confer a 
lasting and merited honour upon their authors. 

' " There yet remain to be executed many important works to answer 
the future demands of a large and busy city. Further improvements of 
/our streets and avenues leading to the city should be accomplished 
"m the present plan, so far and so soon as may be required by the peti- 
tion of the citizens, and their ability and wishes to meet the necessary 
ixpense. With commendable prudence and good taste, you have se- 
scted and purchased fifty-five acres of land for a public cemetery. This, 
Vhen completed with that proper taste of which it admits, will be highly 
reditable to the place, and may with propriety be regarded the Mount 
Auburn of the city. 

: " The most important item that should demand your early attention, 
( the supply of the city with water. A supply of good water, sufficient 
.) answer the demands for domestic use, for the fire department, and 
le cleansing of the streets and sewers, thus contributing largely to the 
ommon utility, safety, and beauty of the city, is of the greatest impor- 
mce ; and when we consider how much our greatest blessing, good 
ealth, is promoted thereby, its value becomes altogether incalculable, 
'he location of our city admits of much variety in the plans and extent 
* operations for this object. The work should be commenced upon a 
an, embracing provisions for reservoirs, ample and sufficient for all 
ture demands, and should be conducted in such a manner as would 
ist and soonest supply our immediate wants. Annual appropriations 
23* 



270 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

should be made to ensure its advancement and final accomplishment 
without a change of plan. Trie amount necessary to the completion of 
this work must be large, but still of a minor consideration when com- 
pared with the great benefits, public and private, arising from its proper 
expenditure. For securing the necessary rights and interests in real 
estate, the present time is the most favourable, and arrangements may 
well be made, and a stock created with proper provision securing the 
annual payment of the interest and final payment of the capital. 

" The various public buildings which will be required for the offi- i 
cers and archives of the city, and for various other objects, and which I 
will require from the citizens, from time to time, large disbursements, i 
should be completed as the resources of the city will allow. At this 
period of your duties, the state of your finances should be inspected, and i 
correct reports of the fiscal concerns of each department required. 
This will enable you to operate within your means, to prevent embar- 
rassment, and to project plans for future operations with safety. 

" Among all our various public and private duties, there is none morer : 
incumbent upon us than the fostering and cherishing those associations! 
for intellectual and moral improvement which are springing up among 
all classes in our city. The attention and efforts of our citizens have 
been laudably directed in establishing institutions of learning, and proc' : 
viding them with instructers of talent and acquirement. Societies anal i 
associations for universal improvement are in operation among ala, j 
classes of our young men. The mechanics, from whom so much is t«l, j 
be expected for our future prosperity, are doing much honour to themn' j 
selves in organizing societies for their instruction and improvement i I 
those departments of the arts and sciences connected with these trades' I 
and in establishing libraries for the dissemination of useful information I 
among them ; thus inculcating good habits, preparing themselves fcfjl 
general usefulness, and for filling important stations in your community I 
From these the happiest influences will be felt throughout our whob j 
political and social relations. By expanding the mind, elevating thl ! J 
views, cultivating the better feelings, and exciting the energies and pulnl J 
lie spirit of our citizens, these measures tend alike to the promotion i| J 
our wealth, the rapid advancement of all out public interests, and tit 
purity and refinement of our social circles. It is from these principl/ 
and qualities that must emanate that union of interest and feeling, thl 
sacrifice of all selfish and minor objects, and that combination of enerjr 
and talent, which are so indispensable to our future prosperity. 

" The location of our city as a frontier commercial depot, and our c 
izens being extensively engaged as a commercial people, enjoying rigb 
secured to them by national treaties, demand of us high and honoural 
duties, in being obedient to the laws in matters involving our natioi 
faith, and in strict obedience to those principles of justice upon wh: 
depends the complexion of our national character. The reputation 
our city for the intelligence, good sense, and honourable feeling 
its citizens, and their regard to law, justice, and good order, sho 
stimulate all to preserve unsullied her fame, and to prevent the innoc ;' 
from suffering from any acts of our citizens committed in secret, J 
beyond the knowledge and control of a proper authority." 

[The concluding remarks referred to the irregularity 
some movements connected with the Canadian difficulties 



i 



RELIGIOUS AND SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS 
OF ROCHESTER. 



The misapprehensions prevalent in foreign lands concern- 
ing the political condition of the United States are apparently- 
surpassed by the ignorance frequently manifested touching 
the religious and social institutions of our people. The defi- 
ciency of an " established" church — the perfect freedom 
from all entangling alliances between politics and religion — 
seemingly indicates to multitudes dwelling under the sys- 
tems of the Old World, that government and religion in these 
republics are mutually weakened by the absence of those 
connexions which have distinguished, and too frequently 
disgraced, the history of most nations through all time. 

Before sketching the progress of the religious and social 
institutions of Rochester for the twenty-two years which 
have elapsed since the first church was formed in this then 
\ wilderness, it may not prove uninteresting to glance at some 
(Opinions published in Europe touching the condition of the 
inew settlements generally in the United States. The brief 
review may enable us to appreciate more fully the advan- 
tages of our country, while the facts that will be presented 
may aid the European inquirer in estimating correctly the 
-worthlessness of theories propagated abroad to the dispar- 
agement of American institutions and character. 
| It is amusing enough for those who are familiar with the 
condition of this country to peruse Southey's lamentations 
for American degeneracy, and his confident predictions of 
• vast calamities to be experienced from the alleged deficiency 
of religious institutions in the United States, especially in 
the newly-settled regions. " As the American government 
.has not thought it necessary to provide religious instruction 
for the people in any of the new states," the veteran Southey 
tremblingly exclaims, "the prevalence of superstition, in 
some wild and terrible shape, may be anticipated as one 
ilifcely consequence of this great and portentous omission. 



272 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

An Old M an-of-the-Mountain might find dupes and followers 
as readily as the all-friend Jemima Wilkinson ; and the next 
Aaron Burr who seeks to carve a kingdom for himself out 
of the overgrown territories of the Union, may discover that 
fanaticism is the most effective weapon with which ambi- 
tion can arm itself; that the way for both is prepared by | 
that immorality which the want of religion naturally and ! 
more necessarily induces ; and that camp-meetings may be j 
very well directed to forward the designs of a military 
prophet. Were there another Mohammed to arise, there is 
no part of the world where he would find more scope or r 
fairer opportunity than in that part of the Anglo-American I 
Union into which the elder states continually discharge the I 
restless part of their population — leaving law and gospel to ), 
overtake it if they can — for in the march of modern colo- j 
nization both are left behind." 

Well has it been remarked by an American critic upon^i 
Southey's Colloquies, that " Ignorance of facts and institu 
tions is the excuse for this extravagance. The emigrants* 
from the elder states carry with them the religious princi-h 
pies and rituals which they have received in their youth.i, 
The law and the gospel, as they have learned it, go withl 
them ; and they are followed by clergy, regular or irregular*' 
for whose ministry they build churches. Moreover, they are* 
not illiterate nor doltish. Occasionally individuals may falll; 
under fanatical illusions ; but, in general, they are too acutepi 
too deeply imbued with particular religious and political 
maxims, and too intent on the improvement of their earthlyj 
condition, to become dupes to any ambitious impostor. ]j]J 
Mohammed were to be commissioned from his paradise tctj 
our western region, he would soon learn to talk about river-r 
bottoms, crops, steamboats, railroads, and canals, and mighfi 
get a seat in Congress by his wordy eloquence. In the ess 
pacity of a military prophet, he would not find as manj 
constant followers as Johanna Southcote retained in Eng 
land." 



This digression cannot be better closed, nor the religiou 
and social history of Rochester more happily introduced, tha 
by an eloquent apostrophe from a speech delivered in Ken 
tucky by the gifted Everett, now Governor of Massacht 
setts. The truth and beauty of the language can nowher 
find a heartier response than in a city like Rochester, whic 



NEW SETTLEMENTS OF AMERICA. 273 

has sprung into existence with a suddenness and vigour 
I strikingly illustrative of those intellectual and moral quali- 
fies which emblazon the New-England name with a radi- 
lance eclipsing the bloody glories of the battle-fields whose 
trophies sacrilegiously bedeck the Christian temples of 
other lands : — 

" What have we seen," exclaimed Mr. Everett, " in all 

the newly-settled portions of the Union ? The hardy and 

enterprising youth finds society in the older settlements 

comparatively filled up. His portion of the old family farm 

s too narrow to satisfy his wants or his desires ; and he 

ijfoes forth with the paternal blessing, and often with little 

else, to take up his share of the rich heritage which the 

jod of Nature has spread before him in this Western world. 

rle leaves the land of his fathers, the scenes of his early 

lays, with tender regret glistening in his eye, though 

lope mantles on his cheek. He does not, as he departs, 

■hake off the dust of the venerated soil from his feet ; but 

; >n the bank of some distant river he forms a settlement to 

lerpetuate the remembrance of the home of his childhood. 

le piously bestows the name of the spot where he was 

I lorn on the spot to which he has wandered ; and while he 

H * labouring with the difficulties, struggling with the priva- 

i ! ons, languishing, perhaps, under the diseases incident to the 

n -ew settlement and the freshly-opened soil, he remembers 

i lie neighbourhood whence he sprung — the roof that shel- 

« ijred his infancy — the spring that gushed from the rock by 

b is father's door, where he was wont to bathe his healed 

1 irehead after the toil of his youthful sports — the village 

choolhouse — the rural church — the graves of his father 

id his mother. In a few years a new community has 

5en formed — the forest has disappeared beneath the sturdy 

•m of the emigrant — his children have grown up, the 

irdy offspring of the new clime ; and the rising settlement 

Lii; , already linked in all its partialities and associations with 

lat from which its fathers and founders had wandered. * * 

ich, for the most part, is the manner in which the new 

ot rates have been built up ; and in this way a foundation is 

;;iid by Nature herself for peace, cordiality, and broth- 

K«<ly feeling between the ancient and recent settlements of 

■ite country." 

.vim While the foregoing is quoted as illustrative of causes 
flrfilich have rendered Rochester what it is 5 the reader will 



274 SKETCHES OP ROCHESTER, ETC. 

perceive from the annexed statements that the condition of 
this city exemplifies most forcibly the declarations of the 
New-England orator. 

Twenty-two years ago, when the first church in Roches- 
ter was formed, there was no other congregation within a 
tract of 400 square miles ! Sixteen members only formed 
that congregation ; and it may amuse some who now look 
upon the many and massive religious structures of Roches- 
ter, to be informed that even those sixteen members had 
then to be collected from " the Ridge in the town of Gates 
and from the eastern part of the town of Brighton !" 

The number, the dimensions, and the architecture of the . 
present churches — the dates of their foundation — the size of. 
their congregations, and the moral and benevolent societies: 
connected therewith — are all exhibited in the statements! 
and illustrations herewith presented to the public. 

" Population and even business may have increased oc-c 
casionally elsewhere in a ratio perhaps as remarkable ; buti 
in few, very few cases, if any, will it be found that the prog-^ 
ress in those points has been accompanied by the perfect 
tion of social institutions in the degree with whicbc 
they are now already beheld in Rochester." Such is thcli 
language we have elsewhere employed in some sketches 
of the city. We will not longer detain the reader from facte! 
which may enable him to decide upon its truth — facts which 
furnish the readiest reply to the erroneous assertions and 
wild theories of commentators like Southey upon the condii' 
tion of the American people. The European reformers 
who are struggling for the recognition of the voluntary 
principle in church endowments and government, maisi 
here find evidence demonstrative of their theory. Even thtl< 
veteran laureate, zealous as he is for the union of churcr 
and state, may be tempted by such facts to admit that fuiu 
Lie opinion may possibly be rendered more efficacious thai 

LAW and BAYONETS ill PROMOTING MORALITY and SPREADIN 

the Christian faith. 

Before attempting to sketch the rise and progress of tr 
Churches of Rochester, it may not be considered irrelevai 
to revert to the condition of the place about twenty-fr 
years ago. Therefore do we notice now 



PAGAN RITES AT ROCHESTER. 275 

The last Sacrifice of the Senecas where now stands the 
City of Rochester. 

The contrast between the past and the present may be 
strikingly illustrated by reference to the Indian sojourners 
: about Genesee Falls in 1812-13. Many of the Senecas 
(Wintered in this quarter, though chiefly roaming elsewhere 
in the " season of blossoms and fruit." Several families of 
this tribe occupied the ground north of the Episcopal Church 
jn St. PauPs-street, where now stand the dwellings of the 
Messrs. Ward, Dr. Elwood, Mrs. Shearman, Judge Lee, 
Or. Henry, Mr. Graves, Mr. Galusha, Mr. Charles M. Lee, 
Mr. S. G. Andrews, Colonel Pratt, Mr. Robert Wilson, and 
•Mr. Samuel Hamilton. Other Indian families resided about 
jhe hill in the southeastern part of the city owned by Mr. Tif- 
any, Mr. Charles J. Hill, and others — near the tract lately 
purchased for a city cemetery, to be arranged like " Mount 
luburn" near Boston. Some others of the red race dwelt 
lear the residences of Dr. O. E. Gibbs, Mr. Bard well, Dr. 
Faulkner, Mr. Achilles, &c, about North-street. 

The wigwams of several Indian families also graced the 
lOUth and east sides of the elevation whereon there may now 



ral Vincent Matthews, Mr. Jonathan Child, Mrs. Ira West, 
/Irs. Nathaniel Rochester, Mr. Thomas H. Rochester, Mr. 
1. B. Williams, Mr. William S. Bishop, Mr. Joseph Strong, 
Ir. Henry E. Rochester, Dr. Maltby Strong, Mr. Hervey 
illy, Judge Chapin, &c. 

At this last encampment some pagan rites were witnessed 
X 1813, which may be mentioned not merely as illustrative 
f Indian customs, but as strikingly indicative of the vast 
hanges by which so many Christian temples have been 
rected on and around the scene of such recent heathen or- 



les 



i It may be premised that the Senecas, and probably others 
f the Six Nations, have five feasts annually ; on which oc- 
asions it is customary to return thanks to Nauwanew for 
is blessings, or to deprecate his wrath. At these times 
Iso the chiefs conversed upon the affairs of the tribes, and 
enerally urged upon the people the duty of demeaning them- 
ilves so as to ensure a continuance of the favour which had 
.tended them in their pursuits of peace or war. These 
asts followed the consummation of the matters usually 



276 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

watched with most interest by Indians in peaceful times — 
one of the ceremonies occurring after " sugar-time ;" another 
after planting ; a third called the green-corn feast, when the 
maize first becomes fit for use ; the fourth after the corn- 
harvest ; and the fifth at the close of their year, late in Jan- 
uary or early in February, according to the moon. 

The latter ceremonial was performed for the last time in 
Rochester in January, 1813. The concluding rites were seen 
by some of the few persons then settled in " these parts." 
From Mr. Edwin Scrantom, now a merchant of the city, 
who was among the spectators, we have had an account of 
the ceremonial, as far as he beheld it, which corresponds 
with the accounts given by the Rev. Mr. Kirk] and, long a 
missionary among the Six Nations, and by the " White ;> 
Woman," that remarkable associate of the Senecas. The n 
latter personage related, that when the Indians returned froran 
hunting, ten or twenty of their number were appointed to su-u 
perintend the great " sacrifice and thanksgiving." Prepara-a 
tions were made at the council-house or other place of meet-i 
ing for the accommodation of the tribe during the ceremonial.tl 
Nine days was the period, and two white dogs the numbere 
and kind of animals formerly required for the festival ; though^ 
in these latter days of reform and retrenchment (for then 
prevailing spirit had reached even the wigwams and then 
altars of the Senecas) the time has been curtailed to sevene 
or five days, and a single dog was made the scapegoat tot 
bear away the sins of the tribe ! Two dogs, as nearly white; 
as could be procured, were usually selected from those be* 
longing to the tribe, and were carefully killed at the dooro!' 
the council -house by means of strangulation ; for a wound 
on the animal or an effusion of blood would spoil the victini 
for the sacrificial purpose. The dogs were then fantastically 
painted with various colours, decorated with feathers, ami 
suspended about twenty feet high at the council-house o 
neair the centre of the camp. The ceremonial is then com 
menced, and the five, seven, or nine days of its continuanc 
are marked by feasting and dancing, as well as by sacrific 
and consultation. Two select bands, one of men and an 
other of women, ornamented with trinkets and feathers, an 
each person furnished with an ear of corn in the right han( 
dance in a circle around the council-fire, which is kindle 
for the occasion, and regulate their steps by rude musi< 
Hence they proceed to every wigwam in the camp ; and, i 




RELIGIOUS EDIFICES OF ROCHESTER. 

7he First Presbyterian Church— next south of the Courthouse — built of 
stone. 



THE CHURCHES OF ROCHESTER. 277 

like manner, dance in a circle around each fire. Afterward, 
on another day, several men clothe themselves in the skins 
of wild beasts, cover their faces with hideous masks and 
their hands with the shell of the tortoise, and in this garb 
they go among the wigwams, making horrid noises, taking 
the fuel from the fire, and scattering the embers and ashes 
about the floor, for the purpose of driving away evil spirits. 
The persons performing these operations are supposed not 
>nly to drive off the evil spirit, but to concentrate within 
hemselves all the sins of their tribe. These sins are after- 
vard all transfused into one of their own number, who, by 
lome magical dexterity or sleight-of-hand, works off from 
limself into the dogs the concentrated wickedness of the 
ribe ! The scapegoat dogs are then placed on a pile of 
mod, to which fire is applied, while the surrounding crowd 
tirow tobacco or other incense upon the flame, the scent of 
/hich is deemed to co-operate with the sacrifice of the ani- 
lals in conciliating the favour of Nauwanew or the Great 
Spirit. When the dogs are partly consumed, one is taken 
ff and put into a large kettle with vegetables of various 
inds, and all around devour the contents of the " reeking 
aldron." After this the Indians perform the dances of war 
nd peace, and smoke the calumet : then, free from wicked- 
ess, they repair to their respective places of abode, prepared 
>r the events of the new year. 

The wild spot where these pagan rites were performed 
ily twenty-six years ago has been transformed for the pur- 
ees of civilized man, and is now surrounded or covered 
7 some of the fairest mansions and the noblest temples 
i Western New-York. 

Such are the results of enlightened enterprise com- 
laed with liberal institutions in a land bounteously 
idowed by heaven. 

Let us examine now the origin and condition of 



THE CHURCHES OF ROCHESTER. 



FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

This is the oldest religious society in Rochester. It was 
< agnized in August, 1815, with sixteen members, by a 
24 



278 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

committee of the Presbytery of Geneva, when Oliver Gibbs, 
Daniel West, Warren Brown, and Henry Donnelly were 
chosen elders, and Elisha Ely clerk. 

In January, 1816, the Rev. Comfort Williams was in- 
stalled as bishop and pastor of the church by the Presbytery 
of Geneva, and retired from the station in June, 1821. 

In April, 1822, the Rev. Joseph Penney, D.D., was in- 
stalled as the successor of Mr. Williams by the Presbytery | 
of Rochester, which presbytery was organized in 1819. 
Dr. Penney resigned the charge of this church in April, 
1833 ; and, after having spent two years as pastor of the 
First Congregational Church in Northampton, Mass., was 
elected to his present station of President of Hamilton Col- 
lege. It may be here mentioned, that the first organized I 
effort in the cause of temperance in Ireland, if not in Great I 
Britain, was made through the instrumentality of Mr. Penne)', , 
while on a visit to his native land on leave of absence from n 
this church. It may be also mentioned, as equally credit- :• 
able to the citizens of Rochester and to the object of their i 
partiality, that a sum equal to the interest of $20,000 is an- i 
nually paid by some liberal residents of Rochester to sustain r 
Hamilton College in supporting the president. 

In 1834, the Rev. Tryon Edwards was ordained and in- 1 
stalled as bishop and pastor of this church. On the day of )|| 
public thanksgiving in December, 1836, Mr. Edwards de-3J 
livered a discourse on the " Reasons for Thankfulness," 
which imbodied much statistical information, and from which i 
there is copied into this work some tabular statements of the i 
churches and Sabbath-schools of the city, &c. 

In 1827, the Rev. Jonathan S. Green and Miss Delia i 
Stone (now Mrs. J. R. Bishop) sailed as missionaries for thei 
Sandwich Islands ; and in 1836, the Rev. F. D. W. Wardp 
and the Rev. Henry Cherry sailed as missionaries for 
Southern India, all members of this church. 

The progress of improvement in this quarter may be in-(j| 
ferred from some facts mentioned by the Rev. Mr. Edwards II 
in his thanksgiving discourse. "In 1815, when this con- ( t; 
gregation was organized, it was the only church in a tracr I 
of about 400 square miles ! the second meeting of its session I 
was held on Brighton Ridge; and no church meeting war I 
legally called, unless notice had been sent to the settlement: 
on the Ridge in Gates and in the east part of the town o 
Brighton I" 




RELIGIOUS EDIFICES OF ROCHESTER 

■ j«t ^-^ Sff and west of th e F„„ 



THE CHURCHES OF ROCHESTER. 279 

It is worthy of note, that, in the year 1828, "no one of 
the members of this congregation died at Rochester, though 
their number was between 400 and 500." 

T'ie church edifice, of which a representation is herewith 
presented, is a massive structure of stone, with buttresses 
rising between the windows and above the eaves, surmounted 
with spires, giving to the building an unique appearance. 
These buttresses were added to strengthen the walls, after 
an alarm occasioned by some imaginary insecurity of the 
building, owing to the large concourse which thronged to 
hear the Rev. Mr. Finney during a revival a few years ago. 
Although the church edifice is one of the largest in the city, 
as the " Table of Religious Societies" will show, the en- 
graving of it might occasion a contrary belief, from the fact 
that, owing to a desire to have a view of the session-room 
included, the main edifice was necessarily drawn upon a 
smaller scale than that allowed for other representations. 

The officers of the First Presbyterian Church are L. 
Ward, Jr., M. Chapin, Charles J. Hill, Frederic Starr, 
ishley Samson, and James K. Livingston, Elders ; Everard 
Peck, F. M. Haight, R. M. Dalzell, Silas Ball, Theodore 
Chapin, and L. B. Swan, Trustees. 

st. luke's church. 

This Episcopal church was organized, with two or three 
iommunicants, on the 14th of July, 1817, under the name 
)f " St. Luke's Church, Genesee Falls," by the Rev. Henry 
J. Onderdonk (now bishop of the diocess of Pennsylvania), 
ector of St. John's Church, Canandaigua, and missionary. 

Dr. Onderdonk performed occasional services for the con- 
gregation in the old schoolhouse on the lot adjoining the 
)resent church edifice (the schoolhouse now erected there 
s one of the best edifices for the purpose in the state). 
Vfter the removal of Dr. Onderdonk to Brooklyn, there were 
occasional services by missionaries until the spring of 1820, 
vhen the Rev. Alanson VV. Welton was engaged to perform 
livine service once in three weeks for one year. This ar- 
angement terminated in a few months by the removal of 
VTr. Welton to Detroit. 

In the fall of 1820, the congregation erected a wooden 
:hurch, 38 by 46 feet, on the lGt now occupied by the pres- 
et church, which was presented to the society by Messrs, 



280 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

Rochester, Fitzhugh, and Carroll, the original proprietors of 
the M 100-acre tract." This edifice was consecrated by Bishop 
Hobart on the 20th February, 1821, and on the day follow- 
ing he ordained the Rev. F. H. Cuming to take charge of 
the congregation, Mr. Cuming having received a call thereto 
in the previous December. There were at that time ten 
communicants. 

In April, 1823, the vestry resolved to build a new church I 
of stone, 53 by 73 feet, on the lot occupied by the wooden 
church. The new edifice was occupied for the first time on 
the first Sunday in September, 1825. Owing to the absence 
of Bishop Hobart, it was not consecrated until September 
30, 1826. 

On the 7th May, 1827, the vestry passed a resolution to i 
organize a new congregation on the east side of the river, r 
by the name of " St. Paul's," now Grace Church. 

In 1828, thirty feet was added to the length of the church, i 
making the whole length 103 feet, affording seats for up- i 
ward of a thousand persons. The edifice is of the Gothic 
order, built of stone, and is situate opposite the First Pres- 
byterian Church and the Courthouse. An engraving ex- 
hibits its appearance. 

The Rev. Mr. Cuming continued his connexion with the e 
church as minister and rector until March, 1829 ; when, 
after upward of eight years service, he resigned. The e 
number of communicants was then 109. 

The rectorship of the church continued vacant until Oc- ■ 
tober, 1829, when the Rev. Henry J. Whitehouse, of Read- 1 
ing, Pennsylvania, was elected. He officiated in the church 1 
as its rector on the first Sunday in December, 1829, and was : 
instituted by Bishop Hobart in August, 1830. 

In 1832 a Sunday-school and lecture-room was erected C 
in rear of the church, dimensions 50 by 44 feet. 

In September, 1833, the Rev. James M. Bolles was ap- 
pointed assistant minister, to take charge of the congrega- 
tion during the temporary absence of Dr. Whitehouse on a 
tour to Europe for the benefit of his health ; which office he 
held for one year. 

A parish library was organized in 1831, and contains now j 
several hundred volumes. It is supplied with ten periodi- 
cal religious publications, and is designed for the use of the 
congregation generally. 

A charity school of seventy-five scholars is kept in the 




RELIGIOUS EDIFICES OF ROCHESTER. 

'he econd Baptist Church — comer of Clinton and Main streets— built of 
stone. 



THE CHURCHES OF ROCHESTER. 281 

Sunday-schoolroom of the church. It was established in 
1833, and is mainly supported by the " Young Ladies 
Benevolent Society of St. Luke's." 

The Rev. Dr. Whitehouse still continues in charge of 
the congregation of St. Luke's, having declined the bishopric 
of Michigan to which he was elected. He is assisted by 
the Rev. Mr. Bruce. 

The wardens of the church are Vincent Matthews and 
William Pitkin ; and the vestrymen are N. Rochester, John 
Allen, Frederic Whittlesey, Matthew Mead, Seth C. Jones, 
William Brewster, D. Hoyt, Jonathan Child. 

A subscription has been raised, and a lot on Brown's 
Square purchased, for the purpose of erecting a 

THIRD EPISCOPAL CHURCH, 

the edifice to be of stone, and 60 by 90 feet in dimensions. 

THE FRIENDS. 

A society of Friends was formed in 1817, and a meeting- 
house was soon after erected in Fitzhugh-street, nearly op- 
posite the Brick Church. 

In consequence of the discussions in which the name of 
Elias Hicks was frequently mentioned, another society was 
brmed in 1828, called the 

ORTHODOX FRIENDS. 

The second meeting-house of the Friends is, like the 
irst, a plain frame building. It is situated on Jay-street, in 
hie part of the city known as Frankfort. This latter edifice 
5 the one occupied by the " Orthodox Friends." 

It is, of course, generally known that the Friends have no 
3gularly settled preachers. 

The trustees of the " Orthodox" society are Jesse Evans, 
ilas Cornell, and L. Atwater. 

The trustees of the other society are Samuel Post and 
oseph Green. 

FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH. 

The First Baptist Church in Rochester was constituted on 
e 13th July, 1818, with twelve members. The first pas- 
r was the Reverend Asa Spencer — he was settled in No- 
;mber, 1818, and resigned in December, 1819. The 
24* 



282 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

church then remained destitute of a pastor for more than 
four years, enjoying the labours of different clergymen du- 
ring that time. In March, 1824, the Rev. Eleazer Savage 
became their pastor ; and through his labours the church 
was greatly prospered — the congregation increasing in num- 
bers and extending its influence and benevolent operations. 
He resigned his charge in May, 1826 ; and, until his recent 
settlement as pastor of another church, has since been chiefly 
engaged in forwarding the tract and Sabbath-school opera- 
tions. 

The Rev. O. C. Comstock, the third pastor of this church, 
was settled in December, 1827, and continued in charge till 
March, 1835, when failing health compelled him to resign 
a station, in the discharge of the duties of which his consti- • 
tution suffered considerably. Since that time, his health i 
having been restored by travelling, he was elected chaplain i 
of the Senate of the United States for one session. " Da- - 
ring his labours with this church," it is stated by one of f 
the officers of the congregation, " Dr. Comstock had the i 
satisfaction of welcoming to its numbers nearly eight hun- - 
dred persons ; among whom was his son, who, when about t 
to be admitted to the bar as a lawyer, devoted his attention i 
to theological studies, and is now successfully labouring as 3 
a missionary in the Burman empire." 

The Rev. Pharcellus Church, the fourth pastor, was set- ■ 
tied in September, 1835, and still continues to discharge the t 
duties of his office. M. C. is the author of two works re- 
cently published, entitled the " Philosophy of Benevolence," r 
and the " Cause and Cure of Dissensions among Chris- 1 
tians." For this last-named work Mr. C. has had a pre- 
mium awarded to him — it being the opinion of the society j 
by whom the premium was offered that it was superior to < 
any other work offered on that subject. 

" Notwithstanding the great additions which have been 
made to this church," it is stated that " its numbers at pres- 
ent are comparatively small, being about 225 ; but it must 
be recollected that another church has been formed of mem- 
bers from this, besides the many who have emigrated to 
the West and other places." 

This church for several years occupied the frame build- 
ing in State-street formerly owned by the First Presbyterian 
Society. But arrangements are made for erecting a spa- 
cious and handsome edifice, of brick and stone, on North 



THE CHURCHES OF ROCHESTER. 283 

Fitzhugh-street, between the great Meihodist Church and 
the Brick (or Second Presbyterian) Church. We are thus 
debarred from the satisfaction of presenting an engraving 
showing the place in which this society worships. 

The officers of the First Baptist Church are John Watts, 
Oren Sage, and John Jones, Deacons ; E. F. Smith, John 
Jones, John Watts, Oren Sage, and Charles Smith, Trustees ; 
H. B. Sherman, Church Clerk. 

FIRST METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 

The First Methodist Episcopal Church in Rochester was 
organized on the 20th September, 1820. The first trustees 
were Frederic Clark, Abelard Reynolds, Elam Smith, Dan 
Rowe, and Nathaniel Draper. Elisha Johnson and Enos 
Stone having presented a lot to the society, a committee 
(consisting of N. Draper, B. Hall, and R. Beach) was ap- 
pointed to raise money by subscription for building a church. 
Means were accordingly promptly raised, and on the 4th 
June, 1821, it was resolved to erect an edifice of brick, 52 
by 40 feet, which was done on the west side of South St. 
Paul's-street, opposite the first frame dwelling ever erected 
in what is now the City of Rochester. In 1827, an addition 
often feet was made to the west end of the building. 

In 1830 it was resolved to make exertions for erecting a 
new church ■ and these exertions were so successful, that 
the massive and spacious stone edifice, on the corner of 
Buffalo and Fitzhugh streets, was completed and consecrated 
in the fall of the following year. This church was soon af- 
terward destroyed by fire, and liberal contributions were 
made by the public to enable the society to repair their loss. 
The renewed structure, of which a view is here presented, 
is not yet completed in the inside — the congregation meeting 
for the present in part of the spacious basement. The ex- 
ternal appearance is improved by the substitution of high 
Gothic windows for the former style, &c. The engraving 
represents this edifice correctly. The fire occurred on the 
5th of January, 1835, and the loss fell wholly upon the so- 
ciety, as there was no insurance. " Notwithstanding the 
kindness extended to the society by the people of Roches- 
ter and other places," it is remarked, "the loss has fallen 
most oppressively on that body ;" but the liberality of our 
citizens is such that they will unquestionably aid the society 



284 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

still farther, so that this edifice, creditable to the city as 
well as to the society, may be wholly repaired and fully re- 
occupied on or before the next anniversary of its erection. 

The original congregation has been divided into two so- 
cieties — the one now occupying the new stone church being 
considered as the First or original Society ; and the other, 
or Second Society, holding the brick building on St. Paul's- 
street. The two societies are separate and distinct " sta- 
tions" — and the clergyman in charge of the First Society is 
the Rev. Wilbur Hoag — the last was the Rev. J. Copeland. 

SECOND METHODIST CHURCH. 

The history of this church is incidentally given in the ac- 
count of the First Methodist Society. 

The edifice is of brick, situate on South St. Paul's-street; 
and the pastor is the Rev. John Pope — the late pastor was 
the Rev. John Parker. 

Nearly opposite this church there may be seen one of the 
two small frame dwellings which existed as early as 1812 
within the present limits of the City of Rochester. 

st. Patrick's church. 

The first Roman Catholic congregation built a stone edi- 
fice in 1823 on the site of the present enlarged building in 
Platt-street, near State-street. The present structure is in 
the Gothic style, and has been erected about 5 years. The 
engraving presents a correct view of the edifice. 

The congregation is large, although another Catholic con- 
gregation has lately been formed under a German pastor, 
the Rev. Mr. Prost. 

Much attention is paid to the sustenance of a Sabbath- 
school in the first church, under the pastoral charge of the 
Rev. Bernard O'Reilly. A school is also maintained in the 
congregation of Mr. Prbst, wherein the English as well as 
the German is taught. The latter congregation meet in the 
brick church in Ely-street, a few rods from South St. PauPs- 
street. 

There is a society called the " Christian Doctrine Soci- 
ety" connected with St. Patrick's Church, for aiding in the 
spread of religious knowledge. 

Several clergymen have had charge of St. Patrick's 
Church since its establishment — the Rev. Mr. M'Namara 




RELIGIOUS EDIFICES OF ROCHESTER. 

St. Patrick's Church, Roman Catholic— corner of Piatt and Fitzhugh 
streets — built of stone. 




RELIGIOUS EDIFICES OF ROCHESTER. 

tack Church, or Second Presbyterian— corner of Fitzhugh and Ann 
streets. 



THE CHURCHES OF ROCHESTER. 285 

was the pastor for some time previous to the instalment of 
the present incumbent. 

SECOND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

This is now known as the Brick Church, from the material 
of which the edifice is built. The appearance of the build- 
ing, which is located on the corner of Fitzhugh and Ann 
streets, is exhibited by the accompanying engraving. 

This society was organized in November, 1825, consisting 
of twenty-five members. The Rev. William James was in- 
stalled as the first pastor in July, 1826, and resigned in the 
summer of 1830. The Rev. William Wisner was the second 
pastor, undertaking the charge in the spring of 1831, and 
resigning it in the fall of 1835. The Rev. George Beecher, 
son of the Rev. Lyman Beecher, has lately accepted a call 
as pastor of the congregation. 

The edifice was erected in 1826, fifty feet wide and sev- 
enty feet deep. 

The officers of the church are Benjamin Campbell, Or- 
lando Hastings, John H. Thompson, and David Dickey, 
Elders ; Phineas B. Cook and Abner Hubbard, Deacons ; 
and James Seymour, Levi W. Sibley, Hervey Lyon, A. J. 
Burr, and Lewis Selye, Trustees. 

THIRD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

The Rev. Joel Parker commenced preaching to a congre- 
gation on the east side of the river in Rochester, in Decem- 
>er, 1826, with a view to the organization of a church. The 
Third Presbyterian Church was formed from persons attend- 
ng upon his preaching, February 28, 1827. The number 
>f members at the organization was twenty-two. Mr. Par- 
ser was ordained and installed pastor in June, 1827, and 
esigned in June, 1830. 

After the resignation of Mr. Parker, the church was without 
i settled pastor upward of a year. For a portion of the 
ime, however, they enjoyed the labours of the Rev. C. G. 
Finney. 

The Rev. Luke Lyons commenced preaching in June, 
.831 ; was installed pastor in July succeeding, and resigned 
n March, 1832. 

The Rev. C. Wisner commenced preaching in March, 
832 ; was ordained and installed pastor in October, 1832, 
.nd resigned in June, 1833. 



286 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 



The church was again for a long period destitute of a 
settled pastor. The building at the corner of Main and 
Clinton streets, which was erected during the ministration 
of Mr. Parker, the congregation were compelled, on account 
of pecuniary embarrassments, to offer for sale ; and it was 
purchased by the Second Baptist Church. After this occur- 
rence they met in various planes, as they could find accom- 
modation ; and at length, in October, 1834, they obtained a 
room in the Rochester Seminary. 

The Rev. William Mack, the present pastor, commenced 
preaching in November, 1834, and was ordained and in- 
stalled pastor on the 6th of February, 1835. 

The building now occupied by the church was erected in 
1835-6, and was dedicated on the 3d of July, 1836. Its - 
length is seventy-five feet, breadth forty-eight feet. It is « 
built of stone, and is correctly delineated in the accompany- 
ing engraving. 

The elders are Selah Matthews, O. N. Bush, and G. A. 
Hollister. 

The trustees are P. P. Peck, Mitchel Loder, David Sco- ► 
ville, E. Weed, B. B. Blossom. 

GRACE CHURCH — FORMERLY ST. PAUL'S. 

This society was formed in May, 1827, in part from a 
members of the congregation of St. Luke's. The Rev. • 
Sutherland Douglas was called to the rectorship in April, 1 
1828, and resigned in August, 1829. The edifice was con 
secrated in August, 1830. In November following, the Rev. t 
Chauncey Colton was called to the rectorship, and resigned i 
in December, 1831. In 1832, the Rev. Burton H. Hickox 3 
was called to the pastoral charge ; he resigned in Decern- 1 
ber, 1833. 

On the 10th of February, 1834, the corporation of St. I 
Paul's Church dissolved itself. 

Soon afterward, a corporation under the style of " Grace 
Church" purchased the edifice of St. Paul's, and commenced 
public worship under the preaching of the Rev. Mr. Hickox, 
who was called by this society on resigning the charge of 
St. Paul's, before the dissolution of the latter society. Mr. 
H. resigned on the 18th February, 1835 ; and the present 
rector, the Rev. Orange Clark, was invited to the office on 
the 20th September, 1835. 

The building, which is still commonly called St. Paul's, 




RELIGIOUS EDIFICES OF ROCHESTER. 
Grace Church, or St. Paul's— in St. Paul's-street— built of stone. 



: 1 

i ko 

i f 



THE CHURCHES OF ROCHESTER. 287 

is of stone, and in the Gothic style — and is represented by an 
engraving. The wardens of the church are E. Smith Lee 
and Jared Newell. The trustees are Philander Tobey, S. 
G. Andrews, W. W. Mumford, H. Errickson, N. Hotchkiss, 
and Hiram Leonard. 

REFORMED PRESBYTEKIAN CHURCH. 

This society was instituted in 1831. The first pastor was 
the Rev. John Fisher, the present incumbent the Rev. C. 
B. M'Kee. When Mr. M'Kee took charge in 1835, the num- 
ber of communicants was 27 — the number is now increased 
to 90. There is no Sabbath-school connected with this con- 
gregation, but the number of young persons attending cate- 
chetical instruction is 60. 

The elders and deacons are John Campbell, Angus 
M'Leod, and Matthew Darragh. 

The trustees are Angus M'Leod, Thos. Gregg, Hugh 
M'Gowen, David Logan, and Hugh Mulholland. 

The church is of brick, about 36 by 40 — a neat and plain 
structure. 

EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH. 

This was organized in 1834, with 20 members, now in- 
creased to 80. The Rev. Wm. A. Fetter is pastor. The 
rustees are Jacob Mouer, John Spanmire, and Conrad 
Pamer. 

A new stone edifice is now being erected for the service 
)f this church, located on the corner of Grove and TUlotson 
streets, near the residence of Dr. O. E. Gibbs. 

SECOND BAPTIST CHURCH. 

This society was instituted in 1834, and now occupies 
he church formerly held by the Third Presbyterian society, 
sorner of Clinton and St. Paul's streets. The first pastor 
vas the Rev. Elon Galusha, who resigned in 1835, and the 
lev. Elisha Tucker was called to supply the vacancy. Mr. 
Tucker is yet in charge of the society. 

A good representation of the edifice belonging to this so- 
:iety is herewith presented. The building is of stone, and 
ituated oi the northeast corner of Main and Clinton streets. 



288 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

ZION CHURCH, AFRICAN. 

Organized in 1835. Rev. Dempsey Kennedy pastor. 

FREEWILL BAPTIST CHURCH. 

Formed in 1836 — the Rev. David Marks pastor. 

UNIVERSALIST CHURCH. 

This society occupies the edifice on the corner of Court 
and Stone streets, between St. Paul's-street and Washington 
Square. The Rev. R. Tomlinson is the preacher. (The 
building was formerly occupied by the Free Presbyterian 
Church, of which the Rev. Luke Lyons was pastor.) 

SECOND CATHOLIC CHURCH. 

This is a congregation chiefly of German Catholics, con- • 
sisting of about 150 families. The society was organized 1 
in August, 1836, and occupy the small brick church in Ely- - 
street, near South St. Paul's-street. There are about 50 ) 
scholars in a school attached to this church. The pastor is s 
the Rev. Joseph Prost ; the trustees are Bernard Klame, 
Z. Eichorn, John Weymann, Jacob Ridle, Jacob Twingel- • 
stein, and Frederic Minges. 

THE FREE BETHEL CHURCH. 

This Presbyterian society was formed in 1836, and a a 
spacious edifice has been built in Washington-street, between r 
Buffalo-street and the Erie Canal. 

The Rev. G. S. Boardman has been settled as pastor, and i 
the trustees are John F. Bush, T. B. Hamilton, P. D. ' 
Pater, John Biden, Jr., and B. Bateham. 

It is a solid and tasteful structure ; and its appearance, as i 
viewed from Buffalo-street, is exhibited in the accompanying 
engraving. 

FREE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 

This church was organized in November, 1836, with five 
members ; it has now about seventy communicants. 

The Rev. John T. Avery is pastor of this congregation ; 
John Gorton and Willis Stemes, trustees. 



CHURCH ARCHITECTURE. 289 

The new edifice designed for this congregation is con- 
structed of stone. The dimensions are 70 by 55 feet, and 
the building will probably accommodate an audience of from 
700 to 800. It is located on the corner of Sr. Paul's and 
Division streets, between Main-street and St. Paul's Church. 
Not being quite finished, we have not been able to procure a 
representation of it for this work. 

.AFRICAN M. E. CHURCH. 

This Methodist society was organized in October, 1837, 
under the charge of the Rev. Wm. Edwards. There are 25 
members. The trustees are Austin Steward, Peter Stock- 
ley, Geo. Washington, David Winer, and Benj. Jointer. 



CHURCH ARCHITECTURE. 

The views presented of some of the principal religious 
3difices show more clearly than could be done by any de- 
scription, the taste and spirit manifested in those erections 
)y the people of Rochester. The meeting-houses of nine 
>utof the twenty-two congregations are herewith presented. 
They are built of brick and stone, chiefly of the latter; and 
heir respective dimensions, with other particulars, are shown 
n the tabular statement on the next page. It is our aim to 
>resent such facts and representations in this case, and in 
>ther matters concerning the city, as may enable any ob- 
erver to judge with tolerable accuracy of the existing con- 
lition of Rochester. 

There are now several churches either in progress of 
rection or about to be commenced. In the former situation, 
here is one Presbyterian church in St. Paul's-street — anoth- 
r near the residence of Dr. Gibbs, on Grove-street — both 
n the east side of the river. The First Baptist Society in- 
ended to have erected last year a new and beautiful edifice 
n their lot in Fitzhugh-street — and a Third Episcopal So- 
tety contemplate the speedy erection of a new church on 
ieir lot at Brown's Square — both on the west side of the 
iver. 

But the specimens here given are sufficient to enable the 
eader to judge of the spirit prevalent in these matters. 
25 



290 



SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 



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SABBATH- SCHOOLS. 



291 



Sabbath-schools. — The first Sabbath-school in Ro- 
chester was commenced in the summer of 1818, with 30 
pupils. In 1819 there were 120, and in 1820 100 pupils. 
In neither of these years had the schools any superintendent. 
In 1823 " the schools were distributed to five or six different 
places, without, however, any sectarian division." In 1825, 
the Monthly Concert of Prayer for Sabbath-schools was first 
observed. Before 1826 all the schools had been discon- 
tinued during the winter ; from this date, however, the Pres- 
3yterian schools began to be continued through the entire 
pear. At this time there were 3 Presbyterian, 1 Episcopal, 
I Baptist, and 1 Methodist school. The state of the Sab- 
bath-schools in the city in 1836 may be seen from this table.* 
(Further remarks elsewhere on Sabbath-schoools.) 



?irst Presbyterian, 
3rick Presbyterian, '. 
Third Presbyterian, 
7 ree Presbyterian, . 
iethel Free Presbyterian, 
>t. Luke's (Episcopal), 
Trace (Episcopal), 
.^irst Baptist, . 
Second Baptist, 
^irst Methodist, 
;lecond Methodist, 
? ree Congregational, 
ft. Patrick's (Roman Catholic), 
*ion Church (African), 
Frankfort (Episcopal), . 
/ornhill (Presbyterian), 
'arthage (Presbyterian), 
andhill (Presbyterian), 
^hite Schoolhouse (Presbyterian), 
kick Schoolhouse (Presbyterian), 
Total, 

* The numbers here given are the largest numbers connected with 
ich school at any one time within the year 1836. The school of the 
ethel Free Presbyterian Church was formed in the latter part of the 
>ar, and is, in part, a colony from that of the First Presbyterian Church. 
!he highest monthly average of actual attendance in the Protestant 
hools in 1836 was 508 teachers and 2554 pupils. One or two of 
.e last-mentioned schools are open only a part of" the year. 



i 




if 


66 


273 


460 


64 


269 


267 


35 


193 


275 


39 


254 


250 


26 


125 


100 


42 


178 


230 


8 


65 


200 


38 


173 


225 


30 


165 


300 


26 


166 


250 


28 


175 


259 


34 


161 


135 


60 


300 


250 


20 


70 


20 


7 


45 


00 


21 


76 


75 


8 


65 


00 


8 


45 


35 


10 


70 


00 


23 


110 


00 


593 


2978 


3331 



ASSOCIATIONS OF ROCHESTER. 



The facts which we have presented respecting the reli- 
gious institutions, gratifying as those facts are, acquire ad- 
ditional interest when presented in connexion with statements 
showing that the feeling thus exhibited has been carried by 
a considerable portion of our citizens through all the relations 
of social life. It is not in church-building merely that that 
spirit is manifested which may justify us in saying that few 
cities of its size have anywhere or at any time, in such brief 
space, rendered themselves equally remarkable for religious 
and benevolent enterprises. 

Desirous of tracing to its earliest manifestations that spirit 
which has happily distinguished the brief career of Rochester, 
and anxious that those whose philanthropic exertions have 
contributed to good results should have the privilege of sta- 
ting the facts as they best know them, we called for in- 
formation upon one whose connexion with all philanthropic 
enterprises is well known among a wide circle of acquaint- 
ance, notwithstanding his reluctance to have himself named 
more than can be avoided in connexion with them. While 
we appreciate the feeling which placed the injunction upon 
us, we cannot but regret that we are debarred the satisfaction 
of printing his name in connexion with the information con- 
tained in the following letter : 

° Philanthropic Institutions of Rochester. 
"Mr. O'Reilly : Dear Sir. — Agreeably to your request, I 
proceed to give you a brief sketch of some of the moral and 
religious efforts which have either originated here, or have 
been greatly promoted by the citizens of Rochester. 

" Dissemination of the Bible. 
" The Monroe County Bible Society was formed in Roch- 
ester on the 30th March, 1821. Levi Ward, Jr., was its first 
president. The operations were comparatively limited till 
1825, when the first attempt ever made to supply any con* 



THE CAUSE OP SABBATH-SCHOOLS. 293 

siderable district or territory with the Bible was made in 
this county by this society. The project was brought for- 
ward at a little meeting of friends of the cause at the Eagle 
Tavern, and immediately carried into execution, through the 
instrumentality of Josiah Bissell, Jr., acting as the agent of 
the society. In so doing, the county was first explored by 
sub-agents in the different towns ; the number of destitute 
families ascertained, and Bibles at once sold to all who would 
buy, and given to all who were either unable or unwilling to 
purchase. A similar survey was made, and the destitute 
supplied in 1828. The example was speedily followed else- 
where. How great the good already accomplished in the 
supply of towns, counties, states, and nations; and in the 
efforts now made to supply the world within a given period 
with this only cure for its moral evils ; this only lamp which 
lights up the grave, or which can inspire hope or banish 
gloom from futurity ! Here in Rochester originated an en- 
erprise which can only be estimated in eternity and by the light 
,>vhich the judgment-day shall shed upon the affairs of men, 

" The Cause of Sabbath- schools. 

I " A Sabbath-school was first organized in Rochester in 
ihe summer of 1818. It was held in the old schoolhouse 
lear St. Luke's church, consisted of about thirty scholars, 
•ind was under the direction of Messrs. Peck, Scofield, and 
•thers. It lasted but a few weeks, and was discontinued on 
|he approach of cold weather. It was revived and continued 
hrough a part of each of the years 1819, 1820, and 1821, 
,nder different teachers, with no great change or improve- 
•lent but the increase of numbers, which, at the latter pe- 
iod, amounted to about 120. In 1822, two or three schools 
/ere held at different places ; and in 1823, during a visit 
'om that apostle of Sabbath-schools, the Rev. Thaddeus 
)sgood, a new interest was awakened ; a union was formed 
: mong those who were interested in the cause, and schools 
!) the number of five or six were established in different 
arts of Rochester. As these schools were formed indis- 
riminately from all denominations, so fearful were the friends 
,f union that something sectarian would be either said or 
mght, that they were excluded from at least one of the 
hurches, and even prayer at the opening of some of the 
3hools was discontinued ; the objects of the Sabbath-school 
sing supposed by some to consist solely in teaching the 
25* 



294 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

ignorant how to read, and committing to memory (on the 
part of those who were able) large portions of Scripture. 
Things continued much as above through 1824. But in 
1825 the ' union' was abandoned ; the schools became more 
sectarian in their character, and were connected with, or 
more particularly under the care of, members of different 
congregations or churches. Increasing interest was felt on 
the part of teachers and others; and one of the schools 
(Presbyterian) lived through the winter of 1825-6. It was 
in 1826 that the 

" Monroe Sunday-school Union 

Was formed, and the Monthly Concert of Prayer for Sab- 
bath-schools, on the second Monday evening of each month, 
began to be observed. 

"From that time to the present (March, 1838), schools 
have continued to exist in connexion with most or all of our 
congregations — progressing with increasing interest and ef- 
ficiency to such a degree that it is believed that not less than 
8000 children and teachers have been or now are connected 
with the evangelical schools in our village or city. More : 
than half of these have left the schools — many of them have 
left the city — carrying with them a Sabbath-school spirit; ; 
the greatest proportion of whom are believed to be still en- ■ 
gaged, either as teachers or scholars, in spreading the benign i 
influence of Sabbath-schools in different parts of our land ! 
and world. A tabular statement of the Rochester Sabbath- • 
schools is elsewhere given, in connexion with a similar table 
respecting the churches of the city. An 

" Association of Sabbath-school Teachers, 
Principally of the Presbyterian and Baptist denominations : 
(though frequently attended by many others), and connected 
with the Monthly Concert of Prayer, was formed in June, 
1833, which still continues. Its meetings, held alternately 
in the different churches, are of the most interesting charac- 
ter. Reports are presented of the number of teachers and 
scholars in attendance during the past month in each of the 
schools, with such incidents as may have transpired affecting 
any particular school or the cause of Sabbath-schools in 
general. Interesting facts from home or abroad are men- 
tioned, and remarks are made by teachers and others calcu- 
lated to encourage and animate all concerned in the labour 



SABBATH-SCHOOL UNIONS. 295 

oflove. It may be added that the object now sought is not 
merely to instruct in reading or the mere learning of Scrip- 
ture by rote, but to lead by the Scripture to Christ, that the 
recipients of instruction may be fitted for usefulness here 
and a blessed immortality hereafter. The 

" Monroe Sabbath-school Union 

Was formed in April, 1825. Ashley Samson, President ; 
the Rev. Orrin Miller, Vice-president ; John Watts, Treasu- 
rer ; the Rev. George G. Sill, Secretary. It was designed 
to embrace the Sabbath-schools of all denominations in the 
county ; but, for some reasons, few except Baptists and 
Presbyterians have been connected therewith. Its object, 
to promote the interest of Sabbath-schools in this county, 
has been steadily pursued by the employment of permanent 
or temporary agents, and by the voluntary aid of several in- 
dividuals of our city, who have frequently, from time to time, 
gone to the different towns for this purpose. 

" The Sabbath-school field of Rochester and Monroe coun- 
ty is supposed to have been, for the last ten years, as highly 
cultivated as any other similar portion of our land. The op- 
erations of the Union are still continued, and immense good in 
various ways has been the result of its labour. By the report 
presented to the Union from the different towns, it is believed 
that nearly 700 teachers and scholars in this county were 
happily converted in a single year. 

" The Genesee Sabbath- school Union 

Was formed in Rochester in 1827. The first president 
was Josiah Bissell, Jr., with a vice-president in each of the 

: thirteen western counties of the State of New- York, which 

: formed the field of its operations. There were also two 
secretaries, a treasurer, and a depository, with a board of 

i managers residing in Rochester. It was auxiliary to the 
American Sunday-school Union, and designed to promote 

> the cause of Sabbath-schools in this then destitute portion 
of our state. The operations of this Union have been prin- 
cipally carried on through the instrumentality of one or more 
permanent agents, with such occasional and voluntary aid as 
could be derived from ministers and others in any and every 

i part of the field of operations within the thirteen counties. 
The number of paid agents for a part of the first year was 



296 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

thirteen ; and, during a considerable portion of the time 
since, there have been two, or three. The present general 
agent (1838) is Loren B. Tousley, of Palmyra, formerly of 
Buffalo. The labours of the agents have been greatly 
blessed in awakening and strengthening the Sabbath-school 
interest. Through their instrumentality, county unions have 
been formed in all the counties ; and some of these unions 
have employed agents for themselves. By them, also, many 
town associations have been organized, and a great number 
of schools established and kept in operation in places where 
otherwise they would probably not have existed to this day. 

" Sabbath scliool Depository. 

" About the time of the formation of this Union, a fund of i 
nearly $800 was raised, principally in Rochester, for estab- ■ 
lishing a Depository of Sabbath-school Books ; which has 3 
been productive of much good. The depository is under the 2 
charge of Levi A. Ward, Treasurer of the Union ; and from l 
it books have been constantly sold, in large or small quan- - 
tities, at the same prices as at the depositories in New- - 
York. The sales in some years have numbered 25,000 vol- • 
umes, averaging ten cents each ; and not less than 250,000 )i 
have been sold or distributed in all since its establishment. 
The value of the ordinary stock of books at the depository f 
is from $1200 to $2500. 

" The philanthropist, and especially the Christian, will be i 
deeply interested while contemplating the immense moral 1' 
power thus brought to bear upon the rising generation 1 
through the instrumentality of these unpretending efforts — 
designed, as Sabbath-school efforts doubtless are, to exert a u 
greater influence upon mankind within their sphere than i 
perhaps any other similar enterprise. 'Just as the twig is 
bent the tree is inclined.' r fhe number and excellence of 
the books — the talents, character, and zeal of the thousands 
of teachers — all inculcating the highest principles of moral- 
ity and religion, and, as we hope, illustrating their instruc- 
tions by their examples, furnish bright assurances that the 
Sabbath-school system is proving and will long prove an 
invaluable auxiliary to our domestic happiness and political 
institutions — founded, as those institutions are, on the virtue 
and intelligence of the people at large. When we reflect 
on the number of youth instructed under this system that 



TRACT OPERATIONS. 297 

are continually journeying onward to organize society in the 
vast wilderness of the west — building up new cities and 
states for themselves and their descendants — how must we 

i rejoice that our infant city has so zealously contributed in 
giving an accelerated impulse to operations whose beneficial 
influences will be exercised so powerfully, not only in our 

i own neighbourhood, but through all the immense regions 
which are now rapidly passing under the sway of civiliza- 
tion. Cheering, indeed, must be the prospect to those who 
faithfully engage in the self-denying labours of a school sys- 
tem thus calculated to influence, not merely the present gen- 
eration around us, but the happiness of unborn millions ! 

11 TRACT OPERATIONS. 

I 

" Tracts were obtained by individuals for gratuitous distri- 
i bution at an early period of the settlement of Rochester; 
l but how early, or at what period the first tract society was 
formed, is not ascertained. But in 1826, the friends of this 
cause, desirous to afford greater facilities for distributing 
tracts to all this section of country, raised by subscription a 
fund, and a tract depository was established under the direc- 
I tion of Levi A. Ward. (This is now connected with and 
, forms a part of the Sabbath-school depository in Roches- 
i ter.) All the publications of the American Tract Society, 
whether bound, or in pamphlets, or sheets, with many oth- 
ers, are here sold at the same rates as at the depositories in 
! New- York; and there is always a large supply on hand. 
The yearly sales of tracts are about $400. In addition to 
the plan of keeping tracts in their offices and dwellings, 
; many friends of the cause carry some in their pockets, to 
i give as occasion may offer, and particularly to distribute 
: them quietly for perusal in steamboats, canal-boats, taverns, 
: and other places on their way in travelling. In this latter 
plan several of our citizens have been active for many 
years, and tens of thousands of tracts have thus been dissemi- 
nated. A monthly tract distribution for the whole city has 
I been attempted from time to time, but never reduced to a 
perfect system till the year 1837. It appears by the report 
of the principal agent, T. T. Pond, presented at the recent 
anniversary of the society, that, during the last year, 108 
persons have been engaged in presenting a monthly tract to 
! each family in our city who would receive them ; amounting 



298 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

during the year to 25,344, or 150,000 pages ; some of them 
in French and German. .Their distribution has been ac- 
companied by more than 20,000 personal visits, and but 
662 tracts have been rejected. Through this instrumental- 
ity, 167 persons have been persuaded to attend some one of 
the churches ; 64 youth have been induced to attend Bible 
classes ; 563 children have been gathered into the Sabbath- 
schools ; 483 signers obtained to the temperance pledge ; 
several drunkards hopefully reclaimed; 114 district prayer- 
meetings held in different parts of the city; 51 Bibles dis- 
tributed to the destitute ; and 15 persons profess to have 
found, in believing on Jesus Christ our Saviour, that peace 
which this world can neither give nor take away. These 
are but a part of the beneficial results arising from the dis- ■ 
tribution of these 'leaves from the tree of life.' Their r 
perusal has animated the Christian in his discharge of duty r 
to God and man ; led parents to greater faithfulness towards i 
their children and domestics ; caused children to consider r. 
their obligation to obey and love God and their parents, and I 
to do good to all. The wayward, the vicious, the profligate, ,. 
the abandoned of every description, have been admonished 1; 
and warned that every secret thing shall be brought into ) 
judgment ; and the different tendencies of virtue and vice, , 
for this life and the life to come, brought to bear upon the i 
conscience of many a sinner who would read nothing else 
calculated to awaken his attention or arouse him to a sense 
that he is immortal and yet must die. The friends of this ; 
cause are greatly encouraged ; are resolved to prosecute i 
with greater efficiency for the future this delightful work ; ; 
and to make still more energetic and liberal exertions for r 
sustaining tract operations, both at home and abroad ; be- ■ 
lieving that there is in the hands of the Christian church or * 
of individuals no way in which more good can be accom- 
plished with such little effort or expense as in the distribu- i 
tion of tracts and the benevolent efforts with which that 
measure is accompanied. 

"THE MISSIONARY CAUSE. 

" The spirit of missions among us was first manifested in 
January, 1818, when a Female Missionary Society was form- 
ed, Mrs. Elizabeth Backus being its first president. This 
was the first of the benevolent institutions of Rochester ; and, 



THE MISSIONARY CAUSE. 299 

during the first eight years of its existence, it raised and 
distributed about $500, chiefly in aid of destitute congrega- 
tions around. 

" The Young Men's Domestic Missionary Society 

Was formed in the winter of 1821-22; by whom, and the 
ladies' society aforesaid, missionaries were sent to portions 
of Niagara county, then almost a wilderness. The churches 
of Porter and Wilson, organized (and for a time aided) by 
these societies, furnish evidence of the value of a helping 
hand extended in time of need to unorganized societies and 
'feeble churches in the west. And their contributions in aid 
of others similarly situated have long since proved the sin- 
cerity of their gratitude ; have given a striking illustration 
of the results of home missionary efforts ; and that labour 
and money thus bestowed are like the ball of snow, accumu- 
lating as they roll, or like seed that produces a hundred-fold, 
[to bless not only him who sowed, but thousands destitute of 
the bread of life. And the many hundreds of missionaries 
{spread over our land, with all the good they have accom- 
plished, are but the results of combined efforts (individ- 
ually as feeble as these) now exerted through the American 
Home Missionary Society and other kindred institutions, in 
which these local societies have been merged or through 
which they now act, and in aid of one of which (the A. H. 
M. S.) the contributions of our citizens have been $1250 in 
; a year. 

" Foreign Missions, 

• " It is not ascertained that any regular society existed 
imong us in aid of foreign missions till 1827, when a coun- 
ty organization was formed. The collections for this object 
lave been usually taken at the Monthly Concert of Prayer 
or the Conversion of the World, on the first Monday even- 
ng of each month. The first time this concert is known to 
lave been observed in Rochester was in 1818, by two per- 
ions, who contributed at the time fifty cents. One of these 
las been for several years a missionary to the Sandwich 
slands, and the other proclaiming the Gospel in our own 
and. From about that time to the present, this concert has 
•>een constantly observed in most of our churches, and col- 
ections have been taken from month to month in aid of the 



300 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

object. The contributions of large sums have been few in 
number: none are known to have exceeded $1000 at one 
time by one person, and of these but four or five ; most of 
them are very small, and repeated from month to month. 
About $100 were raised by subscription in April, 1821, by 
Josiah Bissell ; and in November of the same year, the Rev. 
Mr. Goodell (agent) obtained about $40, which are sup-; 
posed to have been the first sums of any importance raised 
in Rochester for the object of foreign missions. From an 
examination of the Missionary Herald, it would appear that 
in the five years then next ensuing, or till 1826, there were 
given from this city about $453, and in the last five years 
about $10,425, to the American Board of Commissioners! 
for Foreign Missions ; and in all nearly $20,000, mostly by) 
Presbyterians. If to this be added the contributions of oun 
Baptist, Methodist, and Episcopal brethren, and others, ini 
aid of those organizations which they prefer should be the/ 
almoners of their missionary contributions, the sum wouldl; 
be increased many thousands of dollars, perhaps doubled. 

" Rochester has also furnished a representation of eleven? 
persons as missionaries to the heathen world. 

*« We admit that these are but feeble returns of men and) 
means when contrasted with the manifold blessings which; 
God has conferred on us — and little to what we hope has? 
been done for this object in other places, whose age and re-( 
sources, if not population, are greater than ours. But we 
hope and expect that, from among the children of our famii 
lies and Sabbath-schools, a far greater number will go forth! 
and that pecuniary aid, increasing with our ability, will bd 1 
continually poured into these treasuries of the Lord for thd 1 
conversion of the world. 

" THE TEMPERANCE REFORMATION. 

" The first public resolutions ever adopted on the principle ' 
of total abstinence were passed by the Ontario Presbyter) 
in August, 1827 — but not without opposition, or withou 
some claiming the liberty to ' treat their friends politely. 
In October or November of that year, 5000 copies of Kit 
tredge's First Temperance Address were printed (by thi 
procurement of Samuel Chipman, afterward editor of thi 
Rochester Observer) at Canandaigua, about 1000 copie, 
of which were distributed by two or three persons in am 
around Rochester. This was followed by a reprint of tw< 









TEMPERANCE REFORMATION. 301 

editions of 10,000 copies each in the spring of 1828 from 
the Observer office in Rochester, the expense of which was 
mostly defrayed by a very few individuals ; and these were 
sent by dozens and hundreds in every direction. Great 
numbers were sent by mail to governors, legislators, magis- 
trates, and public institutions, and to distinguished persons 
in all parts of the land. These efforts are supposed to have 
been among the very earliest and most powerful causes in 
waking up the attention of this nation to the horrid evils of 
intemperance. 

" The first public temperance meeting in Rochester was 
held and a society formed on the 21st of July, 1828. From 
this time the cause rapidly progressed till our place became 
noted for its temperance, and public sentiment became 
strongly turned against that practice which makes beasts of 
men and taxes their fellow-citizens for their support — seeing 
that our prisons and poorhouses are chiefly tenanted through 
the agency of grogshops. 

"It might also be noticed as an incident worthy of record 
that Dr. Joseph Penney, for eleven years pastor of the First 
Presbyterian Church in Rochester, when called by ill health 
and family affairs to Europe, was the first to proclaim the 
■ true temperance principle in Ireland ; and through his in- 
strumentality the first efforts of a public nature then were 
commenced in that kingdom. 

i " The statistics relating to the proportion of crime and pau- 
perism produced by intemperance were procured by a per- 
sonal examination made through the prisons of this state 
land part of New-England. These statistics threw a flood 
of light upon the evils of intemperance, and copies were 
circulated in immense numbers by the New-York State 
Temperance Society. They were obtained through the pa- 
tient investigations of several months by one of our citizens 
(Samuel Chipman, formerly editor of the Rochester Ob- 
server), the expense being defrayed by a single individual 
pf our city. 

i " For a while the practice of licensing grocers to sell spir- 
ituous liquors was much restricted, and seemed on the point 
of being wholly abolished in our city ; but licenses have since 
?een freely granted by the corporation. This is not the 
place to discuss the merits of such movements ; and it may 
)e only necessary to add that the friends of temperance are 
py no means discouraged. Petitions are even now pouring 

26 



302 SKETCHES OP ROCHESTER, ETC. 

upon the Legislature from this and other quarters to allow 
the people of the severaUcities and towns to determine by 
vote whether they will consent that the present system of 
licensing shall continue any longer — pregnant as it is with 
destruction to the souls and bodies of multitudes, and increas- 
ing crime and pauperism fourfold, if not fortyfold. (Some 
remarks on this temperance question, showing the conflict- 
ing views entertained respecting the power of the corpora- 
tion in the matter of licensing to sell liquors, may be founi 
under the head of the ' Mayors of Rochester.') 

" Observance of the Sabbath. 

[Although the compiler of this volume was among those who doubter 
the expediency of the " Pioneer Line," &c, he cannot refrain from in 
sorting readily the account of that and other similar enterprises — som; 
errors in the management of which enterprises are frankly admitted bi 
the writer of the following statement, who was himself among the fore 
most in those projects and in the other efforts which he describe* 
These Sabbath operations form an important feature in the religious an 
moral history of Rochester ; and a brief narrative of them will doub': 
less prove acceptable even to many who concurred not in all the mean ' 
etnploved to promote the projects described in the following portion < 
the communication from the friend who has here furnished us with II 
many interesting facts concerning the religious and benevolent open 
tions of Rochester ] 

" Efforts to promote the better observance of the Sabbat 
in general, but especially upon the Erie Canal and on thi 
stage-routes, originated and were first made in Rochester i 
1827. They immediately resulted in the establishment I 
a Sabbath-keeping line of boats, the " Hudson and Eriea 
These efforts, after several years of considerable loss an 
great opposition, were discontinued for a time, but hai 
since been resumed under more favourable auspices. TF' 
operations have now for several years, as is believed, givt 
such demonstration that nothing is lost by observing th 
sacred day, that many are now favourably disposed wl 
were formerly otherwise ; and the hope is strongly indulge 
that the business of the canal may soon be managed gene 
ally so as to afford to those employed upon it the enjoy me 
of the blessed privileges of the Sabbath. At least two fc 
warding lines have been successfully prosecuting their bus 
ness upon this plan during the past year. 

H Propositions were made to some of the principal staj 
proprietors to discontinue running their stages on the Sa 



OBSERVANCE OF THE SABBATH. 303 

bath ; which being rejected, some friends of the cause met 
in convention at Auburn on the 30th of February, 1828, 
when it was resolved to establish lines of Sabbath-keeping 
stages from Albany through Utica and Canandaigua to 
Buffalo, Rochester, Lockport, and Levviston. Josiah Bis- 
sell and others were appointed commissioners to carry the 
resolutions into effect. The Pioneer line of stages was put 
in operation forthwith, at an expense of about $60,000, 
mostly contributed as stock — $10,000 each by two individ- 
uals of Rochester, and the remainder by sundry friends of 
the cause in this and other parts of the country. Multi- 
tudes of petitions were, the following winter, sent to Con- 
gress to abolish Sabbath mails — thus drawing forth the cel- 
ebrated report of the then Senator (now Vice-president) 
' Johnson — chairman of the committee to whom the petitions 
were referred — a document so much lauded by some, and 
yet so unsatisfactory to others. This line was one of the 
most perfect stage establishments ever seen in this country — 
everything being new and of the best kind. It encountered 
great opposition from persons whose views or interests were 
adverse or affected by it. But it was of great benefit to the 
public while it continued — not only in the comfort and facil- 
ities which itself afforded, but in the accommodating spirit 
with which other lines were induced, through competition, to 
treat those who were travelling. It was, however, discon- 
tinued after several years, during which it sunk its entire 
i capital, and was the principal cause of the insolvency of the 
i estate of the late Josiah Bissell, who is supposed to have 
lost $30,000 by the operation, and other gentlemen of our 
r city as much more. For a more particular account of those 
iSabbath measures and their results, see the files of the 
Rochester Observer of 1828, and other religious journals of 
that time. 

"I have adverted thus particularly to these operations for 
the purpose of correcting an error which extensively pre- 
vails. Some imRgine these were foolish measures, that 
. have not only failed, but resulted most disastrously ; and 
I that those engaged in them now regret it. But this is not 
so. Notwithstanding the heavy pecuniary losses of some 
: >who were deeply interested, I believe most or all of them 
feel abundantly compensated by the beneficial results al- 
. ready realized, and which are daily extending their influence 
j iin various ways. The efforts have aroused public attention 



304 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

to the Sabbath as a Divine institution — the merits of which 
have been more extensively discussed than perhaps ever be- 
fore. The influence exerted upon society by its observance 
or profanation — its connexion with human happiness — with 
the physical and pecuniary results accruing from its obser- 
vance or violation — have been ably discussed by various 
writers, and particularly by Doctor Beecher, whose Review i 
of Senator Johnson's Report on Sabbath Mails was repub- 
lished in Rochester in 1829, and thence sent gratuitously to 
all parts of the land. Feeling the importance and beneficial 
tendencies of its observance, multitudes in various parts of 
the Union are anxiously exerting themselves to extend, wide 
as the world, the blessings of the Sabbath. And though 
some may consider as failures the first efforts made at 
Rochester, and others may imagine that no great good hasi 
resulted in any way from those early efforts, yet the friendsl 
of the Sabbath doubt not that an influence has here been 1 
brought to bear upon the public mind which will cease but 
with time. 

"It may be proper here to point out the error of some of the 1 
early friends of these measures, and the supposed cause of: 
their apparent failure, or of the pecuniary loss sustained.^ 
The error consisted in claiming patronage for them as Christ 
tian efforts, which, as such, the church was bound to coun^ 1 
tenance and sustain. To this claim or demand, in this as*' 
pect of it, many Christians did not respond, and the patron-r' 
age received was not sufficient for sustaining the first line : 
against the combined opposition of those whose practice 
was different on the Sabbath question. The true ground' 
for all such efforts is doubtless this : ' We pursue this busK 
ness as we would any other to obtain a living, feeling bounci 
to observe the Sabbath, with all those in our employment/ 
If you feel that this is a course worthy of your countenance 
or patronage, we shall be glad to receive it : if not, we have 
nothing to say. We cannot change our course. If we can- 
not obtain a living by this business in this way, we will re- 
sort to something else — to transgress we dare not,' <fec 
Nor do the friends of the Sabbath yet see why canalboats 
stages, steamboats, railroads, and all other business, ma) 
not and will not be successfully prosecuted on this principle 
It is believed that the public mind is sufficiently enlightenet 
to see both the propriety and utility of such a course, an( 
even now to sustain it. 



CHARITABLE SOCIETIES. 305 

" Education Societies 

Have existed among us for years — some composed of la- 
dies and others of gentlemen. Several young men have 
been more or less aided by them in their efforts to fit them- 
selves for clerical usefulness. But these societies have been 
lost in the great national societies ; and the contributions of 
\ those disposed to give are now taken from time to time by 
agents or otherwise for the assistance of the cause. 

" There have also been and still are among us various so- 
cieties for the relief and instruction of the poor — foremost 
.among which is the Female Charitable Society, of which an 
account will shortly be given. 

" The Charity Infant-school 

Is designed to take care of and instruct the children of 
( those whose indigent circumstances or necessary labours 
jrender them unable to furnish the means or devote their time 
to this object. It originated in 1831 by the advice and 
through the instrumentality of the Rev. Doctor Penney and 
lady, and a Young Ladies' Benevolent Society connected 
jwith the first church, who are its patrons and managers, and 
by the avails of whose industry its expenses are mostly paid, 
and by some of whom it is visited from week to week. The 
number of children varies from 80 to 120 — some of them 
yery young. Two or more teachers are constantly employ- 
ed, and its annual expenses are about $400 for tuition, rent, 
fuel, <fec. Clothes are also furnished gratuitously by the 
narried ladies for the. destitute ; and many are the children 
rescued from vice and crime through this instrumentality. 
, *' For several years a similar school has existed in connex- 
ion with a society of St. Luke's (Episcopal) congregation. 

" The Orphan Asylum commenced last year (1837) is re- 
sizing the warmest wishes entertained at i^s establishment. 
A.n account of it is given hereafter. 

; "In addition to the institutions already mentioned, several 
,)thers might be mentioned, some of which still exist, and 
; >thers, having flourished for a while and effected the de- 
igned object, or failed to do so, have passed away. 
, " Almost every moral, religious, or benevolent movement of 
,he last twenty years has had warm and efficient friends 
md supporters in Rochester. 

" It is in these associations and efforts which are here brief- 
26* 



306 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

ly noticed, as well as in the religious societies, and in the re- 
flection, discussion, and auction consequent upon them, that 
their friends recognise much of the means which, under God, 
have made the City of Rochester what it is. We have 
realized the fulfilment of the promise, ' He that watereth 
shall himself be watered.' While intellect and physical 
power have banished the forest, tamed the cataracts, meas- 
urably diverted the course of the river into canals for hydrau- 1 
lie operations, developed the resources of land and water, 
compelling both to aid in the supply of human wants, the 
promotion of human happiness, and the upbuilding of our 
infant city — the philanthropic spirit above-mentioned has 
contributed largely to tame the heart, to curb the course of< 
pride, passion, and selfishness, and to promote that expan-i 
sive benevolence which seeks to benefit mankind withouti: 
reference to the distinctions of creed or country. With! 
these feelings, the efforts of many among us have been un-i 
remitted to arouse their fellow-men to consider their immor-H 
tal character and destiny ; the interests which cluster aroundi 
that immortality ; the relations which they sustain to God,ii 
to man, to the universe of mind with which they are sum 
rounded ; and to live while they do live, as it becomes be-i 
ings of such important destinies to live. Here is the secreli 
of that elevation of character, that untiring energy, that; 
active benevolence, and those expansive views and hopes 
which have done so much to render Rochester what it is: 
and its citizens what they are. 

M In conclusion, I might regret the length to which these 
remarks have been extended and the digressions in whiefcj 
I have indulged ; but the magnitude of the interests and the 
nature of the subjects, together with a wish to trace to their 
origin some of the philanthropic efforts for which Rochester 
is distinguished, must be my apology. 

t< XruJv yours ****■***■*#• ***** > " 

Rochester Female Charitable Society. 

This institution, which has been productive of incalcu 
lable benefit, was founded in February, 1822. It is parties 
larly creditable to the sex of which it is constituted, that i ' 
has been unsurpassed by any other institution of Westerr 
New-York in the excellence of its management and th< 
efficacy of its ministrations. 



FEMALE CHARITABLE SOCIETY. 307 

" This noble institution, embracing in harmonious union all 
denominations, has been in existence for seventeen years," 
said the Rev. Mr. Edwards in his Thanksgiving Discourse. 
"Its objects are the establishment of a charity school, and 
especially the relief of indigent persons or families in cases 
of sickness or distress. It divides the entire city into 30 
sections, to each of which it assigns a committee of one or 
more of its members. Each committee is bound by the 
constitution to visit its section at least once every month, 
and as much ofiener as may be needful, to ascertain the 
condition of all the poor ; in all cases to see that they are 
provided with employment or assistance from the proper 
sources, and, if sick, to supply them with food, and to aid 
them by the loan of proper clothing, &c. The society also 
supports one of the three charity schools of the city, gather- 
1 ing the pupils by the aid of the visiters from the various 
sections of visitation, and supplying them with books, sta- 
tionary, &c. The funds of the society are derived from the 
i contributions of its members, and from a sermon annually 
: preached in its behalf by some one of the ministers of the 
city." 

i There are now enrolled two hundred and sixty members 
of this association ; and the officers are as follows : — Mrs. 
William Atkinson, President ; Mrs. Thomas H. Rochester, 
; Vice-president ; Mrs. Charles M. Lee, Treasurer and Secre- 
tary. The directresses for 1838 are Mrs. Orlando Hast- 
ings, Mrs. Joseph Strong, Mrs. Robert King, Mrs. E. M. 
■ Parsons, Mrs. James K. Livingston, Mrs. Harvey Hum- 
:phrey. The class of directresses whose term expired with 
1 1837 consisted of Mrs. David Hoyt, Mrs. Addison Gardi- 
ner, Mrs. E. West, Mrs. E. Smith Lee, Mrs. Seth Saxton, 
;Mrs. Matthew Mead. The collectors of the society are 
Mrs. Nathaniel T. Rochester, of St. Luke's Church ; Mrs. 
Daniel Graves, Grace Church ; Mrs. James S. Stone, First 
Presbyterian Church, east side; and Mrs. Doct. Strong, 
same church, west side ; Mrs. Merrick, Second or Brick 
Church ; Mrs. Selah Mathews, Third Presbyterian Church ; 
iMrs. Anson House, Free Church ; Mrs. Oren Sage, First 
iBaptist Church ; Mrs. Galusha, Second Baptist Church ; 
Miss H. Arnold, First Methodist Episcopal Church ; Mrs. 
iTheodore B. Hamilton, Bethel Church. Superintendants 
of school — Mrs. Silas O. Smith and Mrs. Hestor L. Ste- 
vens. School Committee — Mrs. Samuel Miller, Mrs. Doc- 



308 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

tor Reid, Mrs. Benjamin Campbell, Mrs. Gillies, Mrs. Wil- 
liam S. Bishop, Mrs. Caleb L. Clark, Mrs. Edwin Pancoast, 
Mrs. Samuel D. Porter. 

The visiters of the 30 districts into which the city is divi- 
ded by the society are, 1. Mrs. Wm. B. Knox ; 2. Mrs. 
Merrick ; 3. Mrs. Graham and Mrs. Divoll ; 4. Mrs. Cong- 
don ; 5. Miss Hamilton ; 6. Mrs. Dalzell ; 7. Mrs. H. L. 
Stevens and Mrs. Gay ; 8. Mrs. Doctor Brown ; 9. Mrs. 
Harvey Lyon ; 10. Mrs. H. B. Sherman; 11. Mrs. Went- 
worth; 12. Mrs. Gillies ; 13. Mrs. Danolds ; 14. Mrs. T. 
B.Hamilton; 15. Mrs. J. T. Tallman and Mrs. E. N. 
Buell ; 16. Mrs. N. T. Rochester and Mrs. Sedgwick; 
17. Mrs. F. Whittlesey and Mrs. Goodman; 18. Mrs. O. I 
N. Bush ; 19. Mrs. David Scovill ; 20. Mrs. Jacob Graves ; j 
21. Mrs. J. D. Henry ; 22. Mrs. Levi A. Ward ; 23. Mrs. 3 
S. G. Andrews ; 24. Mrs. W. Caldwell ; 25. Miss J. Bard- • 
well; 26. Mrs. Samuel Hamilton; 27. Mrs. Israel Smith; ; 
28. Mrs. Guild ; 29. Mrs. M. Seward ; 30. Mrs. Pitkin. .. 
" The visiters will recollect," say the instructions, " that it t 
is important they should inquire as often as once a month i 
into the condition of the poor of their districts ; let the poor j 
know of their names and places of residence ; and make 1 
out a full report of the number of families visited, the sums 1 
expended, the number of children sent to the school," &c. 

Having preserved a copy of one of the hymns composed 1 
for the Rochester Female Charitable Society by Harvey j 
Humphrey, Esq. (which was sung on occasion of the dis- • 
course preached for the benefit of the association by the : 
Rev. Joel Parker, then Pastor of the Third Presbyterian i 
Church), we may be pardoned for inserting it in connexion j 
with this notice of the association. 

HYMN. 

All hail to thee, Charity ! daughter of Heaven ! 
Bless'd, sweetest of mercies to lost mortals given ! 
Oh, dark were our journey through life's weary day 
Without thy bright smile to illumine our way. 

Like the beautiful bow in the late troubled sky, 
To the grief-stricken soul is the light of thine eye ! 
Thou smil'st on the bless'd of this world ; and thy power 
Lends a holier light to the loveliest hour. 

What have we, oh God ! that we did not receive ? 

It is bless'd to receive, thou hast said — but to givb ! — 



ORPHAN ASYLUM. 309 

Oh the dim eye of sorrow shall smile, and thy love 
Descend on the giver like dews from above ! 

All praise for Thy goodness, in sunshine and showers — 
For friendship and love — for each bliss that is ours : 
But oh ! how it brightens each joy of the heart 
That joy to the lone child of wo to impart ! 

The Orphan Asylum. 

Among the philanthropic enterprises of the city, the estab- 
lishment of the asylum for orphans is worthy of particular 
notice. The institution is managed by a society of ladies, 
and has already accomplished much good. The number of 
orphans now in charge is 35, and many have been provided 
with comfortable homes after having been a while in the 
institution. 

What plan of benevolence is there that calls more strongly 
than this upon the better feelings of our nature ? Is there 
man or woman who can hear unmoved the appeals in such 
a cause? The vicissitudes of life, of which the history of 
the orphan inmates furnishes many striking mementoes, 
should render every parent considerate of the woes which 
have thrown these young sufferers upon the charities of the 
world. In no better way can the children of affluence be 
rained to appreciate the comforts which they enjoy than by 
being made familiar with the story of the orphans while pre- 
senting at the asylum the benefactions which the liberality 
)f their parents may enable them to bestow. The parents 
who nurture children in practical charity towards suffering 
humanity will realize rich harvests in the blessings which 
'vill flow back upon themselves from the exercise of benev- 
)lence in this way towards the unfortunate. Such institu- 
ions as this asylum are valuable, nor merely for the benefits 
jonferred on the orphans, but for the meliorating influence 
>roduced on society within their sphere — as it is an axiom 
hat charity is twice blessed — reflecting its benign influ- 
;nce upon the donor as well as the recipient. 
The asylum is on South-Sophia-street, Cornhill. 
The board of managers are indefatigable in their humane 
jfforts. 

The selection of a matron for the asylum has proved for- 
unate indeed — as Mrs. Tobey combines all the qualities 
lesirable for the occupant of the responsible station. 



310 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 



The Mechanics' Literary Association and Apprentices' 1 
Library. 

The Mechanics' Literary Association was established in 
the winter of 1835-6 ; and, from the progress already made, 
no reasonable doubt can be entertained that the society will I 
prove as permanent as it has been beneficial in its opera- 
tions. Meetings are held frequently for debate and other 
intellectual purposes; and the interest awakened among the 
mechanics and working-men, as well as the citizens gener- 
ally, indicates that the association will be liberally sustain- 
ed. Were there no other object to be accomplished by the 
association, the struggle made to establish and sustain a \ 
library for the use of the apprentices should alone ensure the ( 
cordial support of every philanthropic citizen. The officers 
are John E. Stevens, President ; Samuel Bayliss and John r 
Rees, Vice-presidents ; S. W. D. Moore, Recording Secre- 
tary ; John F. Lovecraft, Corresponding Secretary ; Enos / 
Trayhern, Treasurer ; Thomas Cowles, Librarian ; C. H. 
Church, Assistant Librarian ; George Arnold, Wm. H. [J 
Hatch, Franklin Wooster, James M'Dill, Wm. II. Moore, \ 
George Robb, Henry Shears, Directors. 

During the past winter lectures on various subjects have i 
been delivered before the Mechanics' Literary Association r 
by Messrs. Andrew Harvie, Samuel Bayliss, John E. Ste- ! 
vens, J. B. Stillson, and others. 

Young Men's Association. 

After various meetings held by the citizens to devise t 
means for promoting the moral and intellectual improvement i 
of the young men of the city, an association was formed un- i 
der the above name to assist in carrying out the objects. 
The upper part of Loomis's building, adjoining the south i 
side of the Rochester City Bank, has been fitted up for the 
purposes of the association, and lectures on various sub- . 
jects by several well known citizens, as well as debates 
among the members, are regularly arranged — twice a week 
during the winter. Reading-rooms form part of the ar- ; 
rangement. wherein the principal journals and periodicals 
are regularly to be found. Arrangements are in progress 
for the enlargement of the library, and it is believed that, 
with the feeling now prevalent among the citizens regarding 



YOUNG MEN'S ASSOCIATION. 311 

such institutions, assistance will be afforded to the associa- 
tion sufficient to aid materially and quickly in forming a nu- 
cleus for a valuable City Library. 

The officers for 1838 are Henry O'Reilly, President; 
,James R. Doolittle, Vice-president ; Evander S. Warner, 
Recording Secretary ; Henry A. De Forest, Corresponding 
Secretary ; Christopher T. Amsden, Treasurer. These 
constitute the board of directors. 

The first term of lectures in this institution commenced 
in February, and will terminate in May, 1838. The course 
embraced various subjects, and enlisted the talents of some 
rentlemen whose names are sufficient guarantees for the 
character of their productions. The Rev. Dr. Whitehouse, 
•ector of St Luke's, who lately returned from his second tour 
n Europe, delivered the introductory discourse. He was 
bllowed by Myron Holley, whose writings in the service of 
he state are elsewhere mentioned in this volume as distin- 
guished for their ability. The Rev. Chester Dewey, for- 
merly a Professor in the Berkshire Medical Institution, 
,ind now principal of the Rochester High School, has de- 
ivered a course of lectures on geology, which have ex- 
ited much attention to that subject. The Rev. Try on Ed- 
wards, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church (from the 
Appendix to whose published discourse on the " Reasons 
or Thankfulness" we have quoted some tabular statements 
f the churches and Sabbath-schools of Rochester), lectured 
iefore this institution on the " Progress of Science, and its 
nfluence on Revealed Truth." Dr. William W. Reid and 
)r. A. G. Bristol delivered several discourses on Anatomy 
ind Physiology. (To Dr. Reid we are indebted for some 
nteresting remarks quoted in the article on " Medical To- 
ography" in this volume. Dr. Bristol formerly lectured be- 
ore a similar institution at Canandaigua, where he then re- 
sided.) Professor Sweet treated in one lecture on the subject 
if Elocution. Dr. J. B. Peckham furnished a discourse on 
iight and Vision. The Rev. Pharcellus Church, pastor of 
le First Baptist congregation and author of two works lately 
?sued from the New-York press (the " Philosophy of Be- 
evolence," and the prize essay on the " Cause and Cure of 
'eligious Dissensions"), delivered a lecture on the " Immor- 
ality of Thought." The disappointment occasioned to a 
irge number of persons, members and others, who were 
! nable to obtain access to the hall owing to the crowd when 



312 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

Dr. Whitehouse delivered the Introductory Discourse, caused 
an urgent request from the association and its patrons that 
the discourse should be repeated ; and the request was com- 
plied with by Dr. W., who, however, declined to permit a 
publication of the production, notwithstanding the solicitation 
of the directors of the association. Those who have heard 
the discourse will doubtless cordially concur with us in say- j 
ing that its publication would be a valuable auxiliary in sus- 
tenance of the efforts now making by several institutions 
among us to promote literary and scientific improvement. 

The lectures are delivered regularly every Tuesday and 
Friday evening. With lecturers of such ability voluntarily 
exerting themselves thus in the cause of improvement, can J 
we be deemed visionary if, with what else we know of Roch- r 
ester, we feel assured that the day is not far distant when the i 
correct feeling and enlightened liberality of our citizens will f 
cause the erection and endowment of an edifice for literary j 
and scientific pursuits, which shall reflect credit on their i 
taste and munificence, and form a happy substitute for thea- v 
tre, and circus, and other means of amusement which would i 
cost more without raising the standard of intellectual and 4 
moral character ? Those of our citizens who are blessed 4 
with abundant means cannot and will not be backward in if 
such enterprises when men like the above named manifest t 
such readiness to devote their time and talents in the glo- i 
rious cause of mental improvement. 

Rochester Athenaum. 

This is a literary institution which has been incorporated ' 
for several years, and has a library and some other prop- ) 
erty. It is at present without suitable rooms ; but its or- 1 
ganization is kept up as usual. The officers are Levi 
Ward, Jr., President; Walter S. Griffith, Alex.Kelsey, L. B. 
Swan, Henry E. Rochester, Vice-presidents; N. T. Ro- 
chester, Corresponding Secretary ; L. A. Ward, Recording 
Secretary ; E. Peck, A. Samson, S. O. Smith, O. N. Bush, . 
Hervey Ely, John F. Bush, Geo. A. Avery, L. Brooks, S. 
D. Porter, Directors. , 

Pi Beta Gamma. 

An association with this name is maintained by a consid- 
erable number of young gentleman, chiefly students at law. « 



LITERARY EXERTIONS. 313 

Its chief object is to promote improvement in oratory ; and 
for this purpose debates are frequently held. The president 
s John C. Chumasero, and the secretary Volney French. 
, In connexion with the foregoing notices of the different 
iterary associations of the city of Rochester, we may point 
,0 the practical example furnished by a friend of such insti- 
utions, with the simple remark that those who cannot fully 
i 4 do likewise" in establishing, should not be discouraged 
rom doing what they can towards sustaining, such valuable 
nstitutions for the improvement of the condition of their 
ellow-men. The unostentatious philanthropy of William 
•Vood, of Canandaigua, is better entitled to the notice of His- 
ory than the conduct of many who figure in its pages : it 
hould not be overlooked among the notices of Men and 
things in Western New-York : — 

i " We have been requested to publish the following notice 
om the Knickerbocker Magazine, which we do with great 
leasure," says the editor of the New-York Express. " The 
nly fault is that it does not tell half the story, nor does it 
o but faint credit to this extraordinary individual. It is with- 
i our knowledge that Mr. Wood conceived the plan of form- 
ig the society, and put it in execution without concert with 
ay other individual. He called the meeting through the 
)lumns of the newspapers ; procured the chairman, officers, 
id speakers to attend ; drew the resolutions ; selected the 
)mmittees, and solicited the first subscriptions. After toil- 
g with success, and having placed it in a condition to sus- 
in itself, he repaired to Philadelphia, and got up a similar 
'stitution. His active benevolence did not stop here. To 
'm more than to any other individual is the Apprentices' 
ibrary of New- York indebted for its early existence, 
voiding all show, and even the introduction of his name, 
j performed wonders. He has retired to Canandaigua, 
here, we are persuaded, his active mind is still employed 
. benefit his fellow-men." The extract to which these re- 
arks of the Express were introductory is as follows : 
" We hear with sincere pleasure of the continued success 
id improvement of this widely-useful institution," remarks 
e Knickerbocker, with reference to the Mercantile Library 
ssociation. " A large increase of its already-extended list 
H members — additions of new and valuable books — acces- 
ons of magazines and the higher order of periodicals — and 
27 



314 i SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

ample preparations for a series of lectures from some of the 
best minds of the country, are some of the more prominent 
indications of the l high and palmy state' to which we have 
alluded. Let but party disaftections be religiously avoided ; 
let the members but strengthen each other's hands in the ad- 
vancement of the great interests of the association, and the 
institution, for whose original foundation we are mainly in- 
debted to the benevolent efforts of William Wood, of Canan- 
daigua, will become one of which both our city and state 
may be equally proud." 

May his example be properly appreciated. The great 
results of his labours furnish cheering encouragement to 
those who are disposed to pursue a similar course. 

The Rochester Academy of Sacred Music 

Was organized in October, 1835. The object of this asso- 
ciation is the cultivation of sacred music generally, but more 
particularly the improvement of the music in churches and 
for charitable purposes. 

The officers of the academy are a president, two vice- 
presidents, a secretary, a treasurer, a librarian, and three 
managers. The board of officers appoint annually from i 
their own number a committee of three, who are styled < 
M Music Committee." They have also the power to appoint i 
a professor to the academy, to hold his office during the i 
pleasure of the board. 

Regular meetings of the academy for practice are held on i 
Thursday evening of each week at their hall in " Child's ' 
Buildings," Exchange-street. 

The officers for 1837-8 are Addison Gardiner, President; t 
Frederic F. Backus, First Vice-president ; Mortimer F. De- e 
lano, Second Vice-president ; James M. Fish, Secretary ; 
Hiram Wright, Treasurer ; L. B. Swan, Librarian ; Moses 
Long, N. T. Rochester, B. C. Brown, Directors ; Music 
Committee, Frederic F. Backus, L. B. Swan, and Moses 
Long ; Professor, Edward R. Walker. Members are ad- ! 
mitted on application to the Music Committee. 

In music, the good taste manifested by the citizens of 
Rochester has been frequently complimented on recent oc- 
casions. In expressing his astonishment at the prosperity 
of this city, Major Noah, of the New- York Star, says that, 
" As an evidence of refined taste among the inhabitants, it 
may be mentioned that it was through their discrimination 



TEMPERANCE SOCIETIES. 315 

and liberality that the distinguished vocalist Russell, whose 
unrivalled barytone has recently produced such a sensation 
in our Atlantic cities, was first brought into notice." 

The Rochester Academy of Sacred Music has established 
for itself a highly respectable character by the exertion it 
has successfully used in attracting attention to the cultiva- 
tion of Musical Science. 

Mechanics^ Musical Association. 

This society was organized in 1837, with objects similar 
;o those of the Rochester Academy of Sacred Music. Its 
nembers manifest such spirit in its support, that it will prob- 
lbly be well sustained. The officers are Nathaniel Bingham, 
President; Jason Bassett, Vice-president; James M'Dill, 
Recording Secretary ; T. A. Sharpe, Corresponding Secre- 
tary ; Daniel Graves, Jr., Treasurer; Jason Bassett, S. G. 
3rane, Charles Dutton, Orrin Morse, Alexander Sian, 
Oharles Guild, James Turpin, Elisha T. Bowles, Directors ; 
5. G. Crane, E. T. Bowles, J. F. Lovecraft, Music Com- 
nittee ; Trowbridge A. Sharpe, Leader. 

Rochester City Temperance Society. 

[ This association is formed on the principle of total ab- 
tinence from everything that can intoxicate. 

The officers for 1838 are James Seymour, President; L. 
}1. Moore, Seth C. Jones, William S. Griffith, A. W. Riley, 
md David Scoville, Vice-presidents ; Moses Chapin, Treas- 
urer : Erasmus D. Smith, Corresponding Secretary; Wil- 
iam M. Reed, Recording Secretary. 

Hibernian Temperance Society. 

x This society is exercising a cheering influence, and may 
?e made productive of still more flattering results. 
; The present clergyman of the Roman Catholic congrega- 
ion was one of the principal agents in founding this institu- 
lon, and we believe he is now president of it. The secre- 
ary is James M'Mullen. 

Monroe County Total Abstinence Temperance Society. 

1 This association was organized in November, 1836. 
inhere are several auxiliaries in the county, and the whole 
umber of members now is about 2000. The President is 



316 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

Frederic Starr ; Vice-president, Seth C. Jones ; Secretary, 
E. D. Smith ; Treasurer, James Seymour; Managers, Wal- 
ter S. Griffith, William W. Reid, and Ashbel W. Riley. 
The City Temperance Society, one of the auxiliaries, em- 
braces about 600 members. 

The spirit with which the temperance cause has been ad- 
vocated in Rochester, from the period of the earliest orga- 
nized movements down to the present time, may be gathered 
from the statements already furnished. 

Rochester Anti-Slavery Society. 

At the election for officers on the 4th of January, 1838, the . 
following persons were elected : 

Lindley M. Moore, President; George A. Avery, Silas i 
Cornell, Russell Greene, O. N. Bush, David Scoville, Vice- 
presidents ; Oren Sage, Treasurer ; S. D. Porter, Corre- ■ 
sponding Secretary ; E. F. Marshall, Recording Secretary. 

A state convention, in accordance with the objects of this ! 
society, was held at the courthouse in Rochester on the i 
10th and 11th days of January, 1838. 

Whatever diversity of opinion may exist among the citi- 
zens as to the expediency of the course pursued by such as- 
sociations as the above, it is worthy of notice that Rochester i 
has never been disgraced by any such mobs or riots as have < 
attended the discussion of the " Abolition Question" in many j 
places throughout the land. 

Masonic Institutions 

Have ceased to exist in Rochester or the surrounding country. * 
Wells Lodge of Master Masons was installed in 1817; i 
Hamilton Royal Arch Chapter in 1819 ; and a Knight Tem-ii 
plar's Encampment in August, 1826 ; but all were abol- 
ished by a surrendering of their charters to the Grand Lodge, 
in consequence of the discussions arising from the outrage 
on William Morgan. This surrendering occurred in 1829. I 
It was the first movement of the kind ever made, and had 
great effect in producing a general abolition of the masonic 
societies in this region. Many of our prominent citizens, 
who were members of the masonic institution, united pub- 
licly in assigning the reasons which influenced them to adopt 
this conciliatory course ; and those reasons were published 
in an address that appeared in pamphlet form and through 
the newspapers in the winter of 1829. 



IMPROVEMENT OF SOCIETY. 317 



Theatres and Circuses 



, Cannot now be found in Rochester. The buildings formerly 
, erected for such purposes were years ago turned to other 
objects. The theatre was converted into a livery-stable, and 
ithe circus into a chandler's shop. 

The distaste for such exhibitions that prevails in New- 
, England has much influence here, where the population is 
so largely composed of emigrants from that region. 

It is earnestly hoped that vigorous efforts will be made 
by the citizens to strengthen the literary and scientific insti- 
tutions which are now seeking to furnish means of rational 
amusement, as well as of solid improvement, to the rising 
generation particularly ; that thus the facilities may be les- 
sened for establishing in our city attractions less calculated 
to better the condition of society. Prevention would, in this 
case, emphatically be preferable to any attempted remedy. 
Prosperous as are now many of those who have aided to 
,make Rochester what it is, it cannot be doubted that they 
will liberally sustain all well-directed efforts towards render- 
ing Rochester what it ought to be when the present gen- 
eration shall have passed away — when the sons of those 
who built the city shall fill the places of their fathers. 



: 



Abolition of Imprisonment for Debt and of Special Legisla~ 
Hon respecting Banking. 

It may not be considered amiss to state, in connexion with 
the foregoing facts respecting the efforts made at Rochester 
ifor the improvement of the condition of society, that the peo- 
iple of this city were among the foremost in arousing atten- 
tion to the above subjects. On both questions the organized, 
energetic, and persevering movements made hereabout may 
be ranked among the most powerful means which contribu^ 
ted to the passage of the Non-Imprisonment Act and the 
General Banking Law ; two of the most important measures 
in the policy of this state. 

27* 



SEMINARIES OF ROCHESTER. 



The present condition of institutions reflecting such 
credit on the city induces us to mention some particulars 
connected with their origin, as illustrative of the cheering re- 
sults which usually crown well-directed efforts (on the part 
of even few persons) in enterprises of this nature. 

The act to incorporate the Rochester High-school was 
passed in March, 1827. By it the two school districts on the : 
east side of the river, in the limits of the then village corpo- 
ration, were constituted into one; and twelve trustees, resi- ■ 
ding within those limits, were appointed, whose corporate ex- • 
istence is perpetual. The act authorized the levy of a tax i 
of $4000, in sums not exceeding $2000 in one year, for the \ 
purchase of a lot, &c. Under this act an institution was or- • 
ganized ; a lot (If acres) was purchased from Enos Stone; ; 
and contracts were made for erecting a large stone edifice, , 
to cost $5000. This is the present high-school building. . 
In the construction and for other purposes, a greater sum i 
was expended than was at first authorized. After several I 
successive taxes, the debts constantly increasing rather than i 
diminishing, and the experiment as a Lancasterian school 1 
growing very unsatisfactory to the inhabitants of the district, , 
it was resolved, at a public meeting in 1835, that, having \ 
paid about $7000, and the debts being then about $4500, , 
" the trustees be authorized to sell the property for the i 
amount of the debts, if such a sum could be obtained." 
Under these circumstances, and when the property was 
likely to pass into private hands, one or two persons re- 
solved on an effort to raise the means and save the premises 
for literary purposes. A stock was accordingly made of 
$4500, in shares of $50 each ; which, after much effort, was 
taken up by about 60 persons. The debts being then paid, 
and the institution reorganized, a new day for the interests 
of education dawned upon Rochester — as consequent upon 
and growing out of the effort to save the High-school, was 
the raising of the money (also contributed as stock) for the 
establishment of the new and beautiful seminary for young 
ladies in Fitzhugh-street, of which Miss Jones is principal. 



SEMINARIES OF ROCHESTER. 319 

Soon afterward (the impulse thus given being strongly in- 
dicated by public feeling), sufficient encouragement appear- 
ed to induce the erection of another female seminary by 
Miss Seward, on the eastern margin of the city — which, for 
convenience and location, is admirably situated. Particulars 
of these female seminaries may be found farther on. 

Soon after the reorganization of the High-school, the 
Rev. Chester Dewey, professor of chymistry, botany, nat- 
ural philosophy, &c., in the Berkshire Medical Institute at 
Pittsfield, Massachusetts, was called to be its principal — 
Miss Mary B. Allen being principal of the female depart- 
ment, and Mr. Josiah Perry of the English department. 
Miss Allen (who, in consequence of ill health, removed to 
Charleston, South Carolina) has been succeeded by Miss 
M. M. Snow. 

The High-school has now for some years ranked among 
the largest in the state in the number of its pupils and in the 
amount of money received from the regents of the universi- 
ty. The whole number of pupils in all the departments of 
this school are in some terms nearly 300; and it is be- 
lieved that in no institution in the state is the instruction 
more thorough or better fitted to the practical purposes of 
life. The High-school is built of stone, is 85 by 55 feet, 
three stories high, surmounted by a cupola and bell. 

The Fitzhugh-street Female Seminary, on the west side 
of the river, is built of brick, and is every way pleasant in 
appearance and location. In the management of it Miss 
Jones is assisted by the Misses Doolittle. The improve- 
ments which have recently beautified the street so much, 
renders delightful the position of this school. 

Miss Seward's Seminary is situated in Alexander-street, 
in the eastern part of the city. It is on elevated ground, 
commanding pleasant prospects in all directions. The ju- 
dicious arrangements of the building, and the taste displayed 
in the extensive garden around it, are worthy of particular 
notice. 

The estimation in which these seminaries are held is suf- 
ficiently testified by the number of pupils from the surround- 
ing country and from Canada, as well as from among our 
resident population. 

Representations of the different seminaries are herewith 
inserted — and farther particulars are given under the heads 
of the respective institutions. 



320 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

Rochester High-school. 

Rev. Chester Dewey, Principal of the Institution ; Josiah Perry, 
Principal of the English Department ; Miss M. M. Snow, Principal of 
the Young Ladies' Department. 

This is one of the most nourishing and useful literary institutions in 
the state. The edifice, an ample stone structure of three stories, is 
pleasantly situated in a high and healthy part of the city. The grounds 
appropriated to the school, nearly two acres, have been planted with 
shrubbery, and will soon become very agreeable. 

A valuable philosophical and chymical apparatus has been procured, 
which offers great advantages to students. Lectures on experimental 
philosophy are given in the first and second terms ; and on chymistry in 
the second or third term ; besides which, lectures on subjects of gen- 
eral interest are delivered semi-weekly to the whole school during a 
considerable part of the year. 

The school receives a larger dividend of the literature fund than any 
academy in the state, with but one or two exceptions. 

The school is divided into three apartments, each being under the 
instruction of a principal and as many assistants as are necessary. 

The whole number of pupils for the academic year ending April, 1837, 
was, in the Classical and Mathematical Department, 101 ; in the English 
Department, 268 ; Young Ladies' Department, 193 — total, 562. 

The academic year is divided into three terms ; two of fifteen weeks 
each, commencing early in May and September ; and one of sixteen, 
commencing early in January. 

The Rochester Female Academy 
Stands on South Fitzhugh- street, and takes a high rank among the val- 
uable institutions of the city. 

For a series of years the citizens of Rochester had been accustomed 
to schools of superior merit for the education of females. These 
schools, although the result of individual enterprise, were looked upon 
with much favour, and were at length considered as indispensable to the 
welfare of the community. In January, 1835, after the efforts made to 
sustain the Rochester High-school, it was resolved, at a meeting of the 
friends of education, that another building should be erected for scho- 
lastic purposes, and that the new edifice should be permanently appro- 
priated to the education of females. The citizens generally met the 
project with spirit, and directly sufficient money was subscribed to pur- 
chase a lot and erect the edifice. Able instructers were procured ; and 
in May, 1836, the school commenced with favourable auspices, under 
the name of " The Rochester Female Seminary." 

In April, 1837, the institution was incorporated under the name of 
" The Rochester Female Academy." The act of incorporation is as 
liberal as could be desired. The lot is pleasantly and eligibly situated. 
The edifice is built in good taste, and its apartments are arranged with 
special regard to convenience. The second story is in one spacious 
hall for instruction and academical exercises. This is admirably lighted 
and ventilated, and, as a cheerful, pleasant room for study, will prob- 
ably bear a favourable comparison with any which has been constructed 
in the state. 

The institution has from its beginning flourished under the care of ite 
competent instructers, Miss J. H. Jones, and the Misses A. D. and 






SEMINARIES OF ROCHESTER. 321 



ilia Doolittle. It has three departments for study, with an average 
imber of about ninety pupils. The course of studies is extensive, and 
e institution, like the High-school and Miss Seward's Seminary, corn- 
ends itself to all who advocate for females thorough mental discipline 
id a finished solid education. The present trustees are James K. Liv- 
gston, Moses Chapin, Elijah F. Smith, Jonathan Child, James Sey- 
our, Henry B. Williams. 

Alexander-street Female Seminary. 

Miss Sarah T. Seward, Principal, and Teacher of Ethics and Meta- 
aysics. Miss Philena Fobes, Teacher in Drawing, Painting, and 
i athematics ; Miss Martha Raymond, Teacher in the French Lan- 
nage ; Miss Sarah C. Eaton, Teacher in Natural Science ; Miss Mary 
). Thorpe, Teacher in the Primary Department ; Miss Julia R. Hall is 
iso an assistant teacher. There is a teacher of Instrumental and Vocal 
jusic. The average number of pupils is from 90 to 100, about half of 
itiom board in the institution. The catalogue for the present term 

•ntains the names of 109 students. 

1 The building for this school was erected in 1835. It is 60 feet 
> ep and 64 front, including its wings, which are 22 feet square. It 
j three stories high, including a spacious basement, and contains about 

rty rooms. It is situated on a beautiful ridge of ground, and has 

out five acres arranged for playground and garden, with several hun- 

ed fruit and ornamental trees. 

The academic year is divided into two terms of 22 weeks each. The 

nter term commences on the first Wednesday in November, the sum- 
pr term the last Wednesday in April. 

There is an examination at the end of each term — the fall vacation 
its six weeks, and the spring two. 

Lectures on history, botany, and elocution are delivered occasionally 

the institution by professional gentlemen of the city. 
| This valuable seminary was erected and is sustained wholly through 
iividual enterprise. " Our friends will recollect," says the late report, 
that we have no legislative fund to aid us, nor trustees to be inter- 
ted in our success ; and our institution (if it deserves the name) is 
Inply an individual effort to be useful." 

Other Schools. 

In addition to the seminaries already mentioned, there are several 
lect schools in the city — the whole number of this class being eigh- 
sn. Besides these, there are thirteen common school districts and 
'O half districts within the city limits : in one of which districts a 
acious and beautiful edifice has been erected — the building next north 
St. Luke's Church — which might be advantageously used as a model 
similar structures in other districts. When to all these seminaries 
s added the twenty Sabbath-schools, we think it needless to say more 
specting the attention bestowed on education in Rochester. 
It may be added, that a sum equal to the interest of $20,000 is an- 
lally contributed by a few citizens of Rochester for paying the salary 
the President of Hamilton College, their late fellow-citizen, the Rev. 
'seph Penney — a fact creditable to the institution and the individual 
at receive the benefaction, and to the enlightened and grateful liberai- 
r of the donors. 






322 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 






THE BAR OF ROCHESTER. 

It is a fact singularly illustrative of the changes which have marked 
the history of Western New- York, and particularly of the city of Ro- 
chester, that the gentleman who was first admitted to the bar of Old 
Ontario — in 1790, when that county comprehended all that portion of 
the state westward of the Seneca Lake — is now a practising lawyer 
at the bar of a city within that territory which has now thirty-six 
resident lawyers, although that city had no existence even in name 
till nearly a quarter of a century after his admission to the bar of the 
county which formerly included the site of the city. We refer to Vin- 
cent Mathews.* 

The following communication will sufficiently explain the introduc- 
tion here of a portrait of that venerable citizen, who is probably the 
oldest practising lawyer in the state. 

Tribute of Respect. 

" The undersigned, members of the bar of the City of Rochester, 
desirous of testifying our respect for the character of General Vincent 
Mathews as a citizen and as a jurist, hereby unite in requesting that 
a miniature portrait of that venerable lawyer may be inserted with the 
account of the legal profession in the ' Sketches of Rochester and 
Western New-York,' to defray the expense of which we hereby freely 
contribute the requisite amount. 

" It may be remarked, that General Mathews was the first person ad- 
mitted to the bar of Ontario, which county then (about 1790) included 
that large section of the state west of Seneca Lake. 

" The junior members of the Rochester bar some years ago caused 
a portrait of the aged jurist to be drawn and placed in the Courthouse 
of Monroe at Rochester. The senior members of the profession now 
cheerfully unite with their junior friends in causing a miniature portrait 

* This veteran left Orange county for Newtown in Tioga (then Montgomery) about 
1789, where he located for a while. He was admitted in 1790 to the Supreme Court 
of the State, and in the following year to the bars of Montgomery and Ontario— Oli- 
ver Phelps presiding at the time in the court of the latter county. Then there was 
no road but an Indian path between Newtown and Geneva — between Geneva and 
Canandaigua a road was "cut," but it was almost impassable. In the same year 
he was elected to the Assembly from Montgomery county — in 1792 he saw Captain 
Williamson at Bath, residing in a marquee, before a house was built in that quar- 
ter. About this tune he travelled some distance in the wilderness to join Major 
Hardenberg and Moses De Witt while they were surveying the Military Tract ; and 
with them celebrated the " 4th of July" where Aurora now is, with a wooden can- 
non well hooped for the patriotic purpose. He was for several years a commis- 
sioner, along with the late Judge Kmot and Chancellor Lansing, for settling disputes 
growing out of the frauds of persons who sold patents for land in the Military Tract 
rather oftener than law or honesty allowed. In 1796 he was elected to the Siate 
Senate from what was then called the Western District, including all that portion 
of the state west of Schoharie, Montgomery, and Otsego. In 1809 he was chosen to 
represent his district in Congress, and was in the special session when Erskine's 
treaty was rejected, during the first year of Madison's presidency. In 1821 he settled 
at Rochester, where he has filled several offices, such as assemblyman, district attor- 
ney, &.c, and where his course has been such as to justify the good-will which his 
associates have here publicly manifested. As he yet lives (and may he be spared 
many years among us), we forbear from adding more than a brief acknowledgment 
of our indebtedness to him for many interesting matters which we may use farther 
in ampler accounts of the settlement of Western New- York. 




SWr.j 






p^^-^-e^ ^<p-<^ 



batted ■ \rio Barm 1790 practising at Rochester in W38 

\ Tribute of Resped from bis Associates . 



■ 



THE BAR OP ROCHESTER. 



323 



o be engraved in the best style of art for insertion in the above-men- 
ioned work." 

The foregoing was signed by all the members of the profession now 
;ngaged at the Rochester bar. The names of the subscribers will be 
bund alphabetically arranged below. The list includes that of Addison 
jfardiner, who resumed the practice of his profession on resigning the 
)ffice of judge of the eighth district. 

Attorneys in Rochester in 1838, alphabetically arranged. 



3ishop, Wm. S. 
3uchan, Patrick G. 
Dhapin, Moses . 
3hapin, Graham H. 
Delano, M. F. 
)oolitle, James R. 
Eastman, Joseph A. 
Clwood, Isaac R. 
Gardiner, Addison 
jay, Horace 
jrilbert, Jasper W. 
jrrant, Simon H. 



Green, Sanford M. 
Haight, Robert 
Hamilton, Theodore B. 
Hastings, Orlando 
Hills, Isaac 
Humphrey, Harvey 
Lee, Charles M. 
Lee, E. Smith 
Leonard, Hiram 
[Mathews, Vincent] 
Mathews, Selah 
Miller, Samuel 
Whittlesey, Frederic. 



Montgomery, Wm. R. 
Mumford, George H. 
Nash, John C. 
Pratt, Abner 
Rochester, Henry E. 
Samson, Ashley 
Selden, Samuel L. 
Smith, E. Darwin 
Smith, Erastus P. 
Stevens, Hestor L. 
Wentworth, Ariel 
Wheeler, Ephraim B. 



Holmes, Elias B. 
Norton, H. P. 

Bellows, Ira ) p ITTS _ ORD 

Guernsey, Jas. A. \ ^ ITTSF0RD - 
Denton G. Shuart, West Mendon. 
Scotsville. 



Other Attorneys of Monroe County. 
Joughton, Selleck \ 
Jurroughs, Jr., D. > Brockport. 
filler, James ) 

ewett, Simeon B. ) ^ 
Jelden, Henry R \ Clarkson ' 
jeonard, Adams, Penfield. 

John Dorr 
Smith, E. Darwin > 

3uchan, P. G. £ Masters in Chancery at Rochester. 
Jamson, Ashley S 

). Burroughs, Jr., Examiner in Chancery at Brockport. 
Lshley Samson, First Judge of Monroe, ) Rnr „__ T1? _ 
Ibner Pratt, District Attorney, J Rochester. 

saac Hills, Recorder of Rochester and Examiner in Chancery. 

Memoranda. — John Mastick, who died about ten years ago, and 
Jastings R. Bender, who removed from the city some time since, were 
.bout the earliest lawyers settled at Rochester. Moses Chapin and 
V.shley Samson also commenced the practice of law here at an early 
late. Mr. Chapin presided for several years as first judge in the county 
ourts — a station now occupied by Mr. Samson. 

Several gentlemen, well known to our citizens from their former as- 
ociations at the bar or on the bench, reside in the city, but are not 
ncluded in the above list, as they are no longer engaged in their former 
mrsuits. Among these are Elisha B. Strong, formerly first judge, 
vho was placed on the bench at the first organization of the county in 
821 ; Timothy Childs, now and for several terms a representative in 
Congress ; Fletcher M. Haight, formerly a representative in the Legis- 
ature, and now the Cashier of the Rochester City Bank ; James K. 
jivingston, formerly Sheriff; Wm. W. Mumford, Jas. H. Gregory, &c. 



324 



SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 



William B. Rochester, formerly of the Rochester bar, and likewise judge 
of the eighth circuit, who left this city to preside over the U. S. Br. Bank 
at Buffalo, has lately established himself at the head of a bank in Pen- 
sacola, Florida. Enos Pomeroy, formerly of this city, has located at Wy- 
oming, Genesee county, in law practice with John B. Skinner. Alex- 
ander S. Alexander, a gentleman who held various local offices, such as 
alderman, justice of the peace, &c, and who died lately and suddenly, 
much lamented by many friends, was one of the earliest practitioners of 
law who completed their studies in this place. 

In September, 1820, Judge Roger Skinner held a session of the U. S. 
District Court in Rochester, which was the first court of record held 
here. The first county court of the then new county of Monroe was 
held at Rochester in May, 1821. 



THE MEDICAL PROFESSION. 

Some notes on the history of the diseases of this region, and com- 
parative statements of the mortality in Rochester and other large 
towns, may be found in the article on Medical Topography. 

Dr. Anson Colman, who lately died, deeply regretted by his fellow- 
citizens, was one of the earliest practitioners of physic and surgery in 
this place. 

Drs. John B. Elwood and Frederic F. Backus were also among the 
earliest physicians in the city. They are yet practising ; as are Drs. 
John D. Henry and James W. Smith, who were likewise early settlers. 
Dr. Levi Ward, Jr., Dr. Matthew Brown, Dr. Azel Ensworth, Dr. 
Orrin E. Gibbs, Dr. Eli Day, Dr. M'Cracken, and Dr. Ezra Strong, 
settled here at an early period — and are all living, but have not prac- 
tised in the medical profession for several years. 

Dr. Maltby Strong, Dr. Alexander Kelsey, Dr. Austin Church, Dr. 
John Hawkes, Dr. Moses Long, and Dr. M'Gregor, have, we believe, 
retired from the profession or are engaged in other pursuits. 

The practising physicians of the city may probably be correctly set 
down as follows 

Henry, J. D. Russell, Jas. W. 

Hunt, S. Shipman, P. G. 

Mathews, Chauncey Smith, Jas. W. 
Marsh, E. S. Smyles, John 

Munn, E. G. Tobey, P. G. 

Peckham, E. G. Van Every, J. H. 

Reid, Wm. W. Wright, H. 



Backus, Frederic F. 
Bradley, Hugh 
Bristol, A. G. 
Deforest, Henry A. 
Durand, T. B. V. 
Elwood, John B. 
Havill, T. 



Horatio N. Fenn, 



Surgeon Dentists. 
Lewis K. Faulkner, S. W. Jones. 



Officers of the Monroe County Medical Society for 1837-8. 

William W. Reid, President ; John R. Smith, Vice-president ; E. 
G. Munn, Secretary ; Frederic F. Backus, Treasurer ; John B. El- 
wood, John D. Henry, F. F. Backus, J. W. Smith, C. M'Questin, Soc- 
rates Smith, J. E. Camp, Censors. 



PRESS OF ROCHESTER. 325 



THE NEWSPAPER ESTABLISHMENTS. 

This is the twelfth year since the establishment of a daily newspaper 
'in Rochester, the event having taken place in 1826. That enterprise 
was the first experiment of a diurnal print west of Albany. The novelty 
!of the thing — of a daily publication emanating from a place that was sud- 
denly emerging from the woods — occasioned much remark, not only 
i through the United States, but in Europe. It contributed essentially to 
render the importance of the place well and quickly known ; as the fact 
that business and prospects were deemed sufficiently encouraging to 
justify the enterprise was in itself a strong practical argument respect- 
ing the growing value of the then village of Rochester. 

This first daily paper, for a second sprung up soon after, was pub- 
lished by Luther Tucker, and edited for several years by Henry O'Reilly. 
.It was called the Rochester Daily Advertiser. Connected with it is a 
weekly paper called the " Rochester Republican." Thomas W. Flagg 
is the present editor. 

, The second daily print, started soon after, was styled the " Rochester 
Telegraph," published by Weed and Martin — Thurlow Weed being 
then editor. Mr. Weed was elected twice to the Assembly, and finally 
established in Albany as editor of the Evening Journal. Mr. Martin 
sold the Telegraph to Luther Tucker, by whom it was merged in the 
;Daily Advertiser establishment. Mr. Martin died lately in Albany — he 
,was formerly one of the proprietors of the Albany Daily Advertiser. 

Another daily paper, in lieu of the Telegraph, was soon afterward 
■started by Shepard and Strong — George Dawson has since become 
connected with the press, and is now the editor. The paper is called 
the " Rochester Daily Democrat," and has attached a weekly print. 
. These daily papers had to struggle with considerable difficulties for 
some time. The business, which would have handsomely sustained one, 
yielded for a while scant sustenance for two. However, the fact that 
Doth of the daily newspaper establishments have so long weathered the 
storm, coupled with the present aspect of their advertising columns and 
the brightening prospects of the city, justifies the belief that both can be 
permanently sustained with fair prospects of adequate reward in future 
for toil which few can properly appreciate who are unacquainted with 
the routine of a daily morning newspaper establishment. 

The first weekly newspaper established in Rochester was com- 
menced in 1816 by Dauby and Sheldon. It was called the " Roches- 
ter Gazette."* This gazette was afterward called the Rochester Re- 
publican, and published for some years by Derick and Levi W. Sib- 
ley. Frederic Whittlesey and Edwin Scrantom followed them in the 
publication ; and in 1827 the establishment was sold to the publisher 
of the Daily Advertiser, in connexion with which print the Republican 
has ever since been issued. Messrs. Whittlesey and Derick Sibley 
have since served several years as representatives, the first in Congress 
and the last in the State Legislature. 

* Soon after its establishment Mr. Dauby removed to Utica, of which place he has 
been postmaster for several years. 

28 



326 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

The second weekly newspaper was established by Everard Peck and 
Co. in 1818. It was called the Rochester Telegraph — the same which 
was converted into a daily paper in 1827 by Weed and Martin, as above 
mentioned. 

The Rochester Album, published by Elihu F. Marshall, and the 
Craftsman, published by E. J. Roberts, existed for a few years. The 
first was merged in the Telegraph, and the latter ceased after some 
abortive efforts by Mr. Roberts to establish a daily paper in connexion 
with his concern. 

The publications of the City of Rochester now are — 

The Rochester Daily Advertiser, with a weekly adjunct called the 
Rochester Republican — Luther Tucker, publisher — Thomas W. Flagg, 
editor. 

The Rochester Daily Democrat, with a weekly paper called the 
Rochester Democrat — Shepherd, Strong, and Dawson, publishers — 
George Dawson, Jr., editor. 

The Genesee Farmer, weekly and monthly — edited by Luther Tuck- 
er, assisted by Willis Gaylord and John Thomas, of Onondaga county. 

The Rochester Gem, quarto, published semi-monthly from the office 
of the " Democrat." 

The Rochester Pearl, quarto, published semi-monthly by F. Grant 
Norton. 

We cannot neglect the opportunity to express our hearty satisfaction 
at the now widespread circulation of the " Genesee Farmer" through 
the Union and the Canadas. The concurring testimonials of many of 
the most intelligent men in various sections of the land render us con- 
fident that we will be cordially sustained by multitudes in expressing 
the belief that a print never existed that was better suited to elevate 
the condition of the great agricultural interest. The establishment was 
for some years a doubtful experiment. Its receipts yielded a very in- 
adequate return for the labour requisite to its sustenance — without con- 
sidering the intellectual ability which distinguished its course. The 
persevering spirit of Mr. Tucker — the zeal with which he has struggled 
through great difficulties in sustaining the enterprise, are worthy of 
the reward which an intelligent people rarely fail to bestow on well-di- 
rected efforts for the improvement of society. 

The versatile talents of Willis Gaylord, of Otisco, Onondaga, coupled 
with the ability of David and John Thomas and Dan Bradley, of the same 
county, have contributed largely to the success of the Genesee Farmer. 
Those gentlemen are and have been for years among the principal con- 
tributors to its columns ; and we may add here, that, among the many 
spirited correspondents, Lewis F. Allen, of Buffalo, should be named for 
his exertions to encourage agricultural improvement, not only by his 
practice at home, but by his writings through the Genesee Farmer, and 
by his efforts in the Legislature, of which he is now a member. 

If those men may be considered public benefactors who " cause two 
blades of grass to grow where but one grew before," these remarks 
may not be considered inappropriate when speaking of the contributors 
to such a print as the " Genesee Farmer." 



MILITARY. 327 



MILITARY. 

Our military annals are, luckily, not remarkably eventful. The only 
movement of a belligerent nature among our people was that when " the 
thirty-three," constituting the whole arms-bearing population of Roch- 
ester in 1814, hurried down to the junction of the Genesee and Onta- 
rio to unite with the few neighbouring militia in repelling the British 
fleet. The rolls for 1838 show the names of the following 

Officers whose headquarters are in Rochester. 

Major-General Abner Hubbard, 23d division, comprising the 46th 
and 33d brigades of infantry. Staff: Lieut. Col. Johnson I. Robins, 
Division Inspector ; Alexis Ward, Judge Advocate ; Lewis K. Faulkner, 
Division Surgeon ; Major Wm. E. Lathrop, Aiddecamp ; Wm. Chur- 
chill, Aiddecamp ; Heman Loomis, Paymaster. 

[Gen. Stevens has just been appointed major-general, in lieu of Gen. 
Hubbard, resigned.] 

Brigadier-General Hestor L. Stevens, 46th brigade, comprising one 
battalion of cavalry and six regiments of infantry. Staff: Major Joseph 
Medbery, Brigade Inspector ; E. Darwin Smith, Judge Advocate ; E. 
Peshine Smith, Aiddecamp ; Captain Hiram Leonard, Quartermaster ; 
.Samuel Richardson, Paymaster ; Surgeon, J. H. Van Every. 

Brigadier- General Ashbel W. Riley, 3d Rifle Brigade, 2d division 
.of Riflemen. Staff: Major E. Henry Barnard, Division Inspector; 
Jasper W. Gilbert, Judge Advocate ; Captain L. B. Swan, Aiddecamp ; 
;George H. Evans, Quartermaster ; Hiram Bancker, Paymaster ; Sur- 
igeon, Alexander Kelsey. This brigade consists of the 1st, 18th, and 
22d regiments of riflemen. The 1st regiment was, as its name im- 
,ports, the earliest formed rifle regiment in the state, 
i Major K. H. Van Rensselaer, 1st battalion of Cavalry and Horse 
Artillery, attached to the 46th brigade, 23d division. Staff: Lieut. 
Mortimer F. Reynolds, Adjutant ; H. N. Curtiss, Quartermaster ; J. 
A. Schermerhorn, Paymaster. 

i Col. Joseph Wood, 25th regiment of Artillery, 8th brigade, 4th divi- 
sion ; Lieut. Col. David Miller; Major James Williams. Staff: Lieut. 
Jason Bassett, Adjutant ; J. M'Dill, Quartermaster ; N. H. Blossom, 
Paymaster ; Surgeon, H. Wells. 

i Colonel Horace Gay, 18th Rifle regiment, 3d brigade, 2d division ; 
Lieux. Col. Ariel Wentworth ; Major H. B. Dannals. Staff: Lieut, 
J. M. Hatch, Adjutant ; A. M. Williams, Quartermaster ; Carlos 
Cobb, Paymaster ; Surgeon, E. G. Munn. 

i Col. Amos Sawyer, 178th regiment of Infantry, 46th brigade, 23d 
division ; Lieut. Col. Christopher T. Amsden ; Major R. A. Hall. 
Lieut. Edwin Avery, Adjutant ; Thomas M. Watson, Quartermaster ; 
:G. W. Dingman, Paymaster. 

The uniform companies located in Rochester are the Artillery, com- 
manded by Capt. Evan Evans ; the Rifle Guards, commanded by Capt. 
Jacob Howe ; the Volunteers, commanded by Capt. P. J. M'Namara ; 
the Cavalry Guards, commanded by Capt. J. I. Reilly ; the City Guards, 
commanded by Capt. T. B. V. Durand ; the Washington Guards, com- 
manded by Capt. J. Depau ; the Pioneers, commanded by Capt. Pat* 
rick G. Buchan. 



328 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

FIRE DEPARTMENT. 

Although the city has been unusually exempt from the ravages of 
fire, the organization of the fire department has been generally well 
sustained. There are six first-rate fire engines, manufactured by 
Selye's valuable establishment in this city ; with four companies of 
hook and ladder, hose, axemen, &c. The great increase of the place, 
however, requires that still greater caie should be taken in hav- 
ing a larger supply of engines, and all well manned ; though, in justice 
to the present companies, it should be stated that the fire department, 
as regards both men and apparatus, need not shrink from comparison 
with that of any other city of similar size. Hydraulions are connected 
with the machinery in some factories ; which, worked by water power, i 
have already rendered signal service in preventing the spread of fire in 
their vicinity. There need be no lack of water for preventing confla- i 
gration in any part of the city so long as the Genesee River and Erie 
Canal run through Rochester, south, north, east, and west.' 

Chief Engineer, Alfred Judson ; Assistant Engineers, P. D. Wright i 
and R. A. Bunnell. 

Fire Company No. 1. — Wm. P. Smith, Foreman; Jas. N. Lang- j 
worthy, Assistant ; Isaac. W. Congdon, Secretary. 

No. 2. — P. W. Jennings, Foreman ; J. Stroup, Assistant ; R. Keeler, i 
Secretary. 

No. 3. — George Arnold, Foreman ; George Brewster, Assistant ; 
George Whitney, Secretary. 

No. 4. — J. D. Hawkes, Foreman ; J. W. Bissell, Assistant ; L. . 
Bell, Secretary. 

No. 5. — A. Green, Foreman ; Joseph Hanniss, Assistant ; R. A. i 
Hall, Secretary. 

No. 6. — A. J. Langworthy, Foreman ; George Sprigg, Assistant ; 
C. S. Underwood, Secretary. 

Hook and Ladder No. 1. — T. B. Hamilton, Foreman ; C. H. Bick- It 
nell, Assistant ; H. H. Brewster, Secretary. 

No. 2. — Wm. Blossom, Foreman ; G. A. Wilkins, Assistant ; H. I 
Moore, Secretary. 

Hose Company. — Henry S. Flower, Foreman ; Wm. Cook, Assist- 
ant ; James C. Wells, Secretary. 

Bucket Company. — Twenty-six members. 

The " Firemen ] s Benevolent Association 11 

Is accumulating a considerable fund to provide relief for disabled fire- 
men or their families. The mammoth cheese presented to the city . 
corporation by Col. Meacham, of Oswego county, in 1835, was sold in 
pieces at auction for the purpose of aiding this association, and the i 
proceeds amounted to several hundred dollars. This was the first im- 
portant donation. 

The officers of the Benevolent Association for the year 1838 are— 



tires. 329 

President, Erastus Cook ; 1st Vice-president, Peter W. Jennings ; 2d 
Vice-president, William Blossom ; Secretary, Wm. R. Montgomery ; 
Treasurer, John Williams; Collector, A. J. Langworthy. Trustees — 
Fire Co. No. 1, Wm. S. Whittlesey ; No. 2, Edward Roggen ; No. 3, 
Isaac Holms ; No. 4, John T. Talman ; No. 5, E. B. Wheeler ; No. 
6, William Ailing. Hook and Ladder Co. No. 1, Wdliam Brewster; 
No. 2, James Bradshaw. Hose Co. No. 1, Heman Loomis. 

Fires in the City of Rochester.— 1835, 1836, 1837. 

The following table of fires where the engines were used has been 
. politely furnished by Mr. Wm. Myers, sexton of the city. 

1835. Jan. 5, the great Methodist Church (rebuilt). Feb. 8, Hill 
I & Bates's mill, now E. W. Scrantom's, damaged. Feb. 15, O. Sage's 

barn, &c. May 14, one of Pease's houses, Cornhill. June 30, 
.Moore's store on the main bridge. July 23, S. O. Smith's dryhouse. 

Aug. 2, Lewis Selye's furnace. Aug. 13, Judge Chapin's barn. 

Nov. 3, Judge Chapin's barn. [The burning of these barns were 
i among the most daring acts of incendiarism known in this city, if not 
;the only palpable ones in its history.] Nov. 16, a house on Brown 

Square. Nov. 16, at Graves's tannery. So that there, were but eleven 
jfires in 1835 ; and of these, the heaviest losses were by the burning of 

the church, of Selye's furnace, and of Moore's store. 

1836. Feb. 6, Lewis Selye's engine-shop : loss considerable. July 
13, Child's marble block, warehouses, &c, between the Rochester 
House and the river : loss heavy, Oct. 4, Lyon's diehouse at their 
woollen factory. Only three fires requiring the use of engines in 1836 ! 
This exemption from fire is both remarkable and gratifying, and reflects 
much credit on the firewardens of the city, as well as on the general 
(carefulness of the citizens. 

1837. Feb. 16, Howard's grocery, South St. Paul's-street. March 
■4, Warren's house, North Clinton-street. March 5, Parmelee's cooper- 
shop, Buffalo-street. March 17, F. Whittlesey's dwelling, St. Paul's- 
;Street. March 30, Selye's engine-shop and Lyon's cloth factory. 
This was the second time Selye's shop was burnt. Lyon's factory was 
an excellent establishment, and had just been sold to other persons. 
April 5, Sol. Hunt's dwelling, North-street. April 26, J. T. Talman's 
house, Exchange-street, let to Mrs. Goff. June 11, an extensive fire 
corner of Front and Main streets, destroying buildings owned or occu- 
pied by Barton, Bancker & Avery, M. Parsons & Co., J. Graves, N. T. 
Rochester, near the northwest corner of the main bridge across the river. 
June 18, the Globe Buildings, second time, by which numerous machine- 
shops were destroyed, and many men thrown out of employment tem- 
Dorarily. July 9, Bartholic's chemical laboratory, Exchange-street. 
July 24, Smith's carpet factory, near the Middle Falls. July 27, Curry's 
blacksmith shop, Exchange-street. Oct. 4, Hydraulic buildings, Be- 
nish's mill, the oil-mill of Perrin, Barton & Guild's edge-tool factory, 
H. W. Stager's edge-tool factory, Gilbert's rifle factory, the turning 
shops of Graves & Kilbourn, and of Richardson and Lee, with various 
')ther mechanics' shops. The fire was with difficulty prevented from 
spreading to Strong's City Mills, &c. Oct. 6, Stroup and Robins's 
oiner-shop, River Alley. Little damage was sustained by fire during 
he winter of 1837-8. 

28* 



330 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

BANKING AND ENSURANCE COMPANIES. 

The Bank of Rochester 

Was incorporated in 1824, the charter to expire in 1840. The capital 
is $250,000. James Seymour is President ; David Scoville, Cashier ; 
Joseph Alleyn, Bookkeeper ; Henry W. Davis, Discount Clerk ; E. 
S. Warner, Teller. The former presidents of this bank were Nathan- 
iel Rochester, Elisha B. Strong, Levi Ward, Jr., and Frederic Bushnell. 
The first and last named are dead. 

Bank of Monroe, 

Incorporated in 1829, one of the first chartered under the Safety-Fund 
Act, capital $300,000. J. M. Schermerhom, President ; Ralph Lester, 
Cashier ; J. N. Langworthy, Teller ; William S. Whittlesey, Book- 
keeper. From its foundation until recently, Abraham M. Schermer- 
hom was president and John T. Tallman cashier. 

Rochester City Bank, 

Chartered in 1836, capital $400,000. Jacob Gould was the first presi- 
dent, and resigned about the beginning of 1838. Everard Peck is 
Vice-president and Fletcher M. Haight Cashier ; J. W. Bissell, Teller ; 
Mr. Blyth, Bookkeeper ; Christopher T. Amsden, Discount Clerk. 
The edifice erected by this bank is a chaste and beautiful structure, 
the front of Lockport stone. See Engraving. 

Rochester Savings Bank, 

Incorporated in 1831. On the 1st of January, 1836, the institution had 
invested in loans on real estate, $37,500, on deposite in banks in the 
city, $12,000. Received of depositors during the year 1835, $100,000, 
The officers are Levi Ward, Jr., President ; Jacob Gould, Vice-presi- 
dent ; John Haywood, Treasurer ; David Scoville, Secretary ; Isaac 
Hills, Attorney ; A. M. Schermerhom and A. M. Williams, Funding 
Committee. 

Monroe County Mutual Ensurance Company., 

Chartered in 1836, and now rapidly extending its operations as the 
merits of the system become better understood. As in the mutual en- 
surance companies of New-England, each person ensured becomes a 
member pledged to pay his proportion (from a per centage charged upon 
his policy) of whatever losses may be incurred upon property ensured 
by the company. A. M. Schermerhom, President ; Levi A. Ward, 
Secretary. 

Other Ensurance Companies 

Have agencies in Rochester. Levi. A. Ward is Agent for the Hartford 
and Etna Fire Ensurances of Hartford, Con. ; for the Howard Fire En- 
surance Company, and the Life Ensurance and Trust Company of New- 




ROCHESTER CITY BANK. 

uilt of Lockport stone, resembling in style the front of the Bank of Amer- 
ica in New-York. Situate on State-street. 



POSTOFFICE. 331 

York ; and for the Trader's Ensurance Company, with power to ensure 
upon the lakes. 
i Walter S. Griffith is Agent of the Troy Ensurance Company. 

John Havvkes is Agent for the American Life Ensurance and Trust 
Company, and for the Schenectady and Saratoga Ensurance Companies. 

Theodore B. Hamilton is Agent for the Northwestern Ensurance 
Company for ensuring vessels and cargoes ; for the Albany Ensurance 
Company, and for the Firemen's Ensurance Company of Albany. 

H. A. Brewster is Agent for the Saratoga County Ensurance Com- 
pany, and for the Spring-Garden Ensurance Company of Philadelphia. 



ROCHESTER POSTOFFICE. 

The history of the Rochester Postoffice furnishes some singular inci- 
dents illustrative of the progress of improvement in the city and sur- 
rounding country. It is characteristic of the business and intelligence 
of the citizens. 

The postoffice was established when a village was first projected and 
named Rochester. This was in 1812, when Abelard Reynolds was ap- 
pointed postmaster. At that period the mail was weekly carried through 
these parts from Canandaigua — the mailcarrier being occasionally a wo- 
man, who performed the duty on horseback. This latter circumstance 
occasioned some waggery from the only lawyer then located hereabout 
(John Mastick), whose demand for letters was frequently preceded by 
an inquiry if the fe-male had arrived. The " spoils" of the postoffice 
could not have been very enormous at that time, as the whole receipts 
for postage in the first quarter fell short of three dollars and fifty cents. 
As late as 1815 one of our present citizens had authority to designate 
the location of postoffices wherever he would agree to deliver the mail 
, once a week for all the postage which he might collect in nearly all the 
country between Canandaigua and the Niagara River, and from the 
Canandaigua and Buffalo road northward to the shores of Lake Ontario ! 
The tract liberally allotted for the above mail arrangement is about 25 
or 30 miles wide and 100 miles long, including now the populous coun- 
ties of Monroe, Orleans, and Niagara, with such flourishing towns as 
Rochester, Lockport, Albion, Brockport, Pittsford, Scottsville, &c No 
regular postroute was established through Rochester till within twenty 
years — as it was not till 1816 that Congress, on motion of Gen. Micah 
Brooks, directed the proper committee to " inquire into the expediency 
of establishing a mailroute from Canandaigua to Lewiston by way of the 
village of Rochester." 

The gross receipts of the Rochester postoffice averaged about $4000 
per quarter during the year 1837. Something of a contrast between this 
sum and the $3 42 produced by the office for the first quarter after its 
establishment in 1812. Such is one of the vast changes effected in a 
single quarter century ! The postoffice business places Rochester third 
among the cities of the Empire State. 

It is proper to add that the postage accruing here is not occasioned or 
swelled by any income from the distributing business, as this is not 
what is termed a " distributing office." 

John B. Elwood, appointed as the successor of Mr. Reynolds in the 
postoffice in July, 1829, has held the appointment to the present time, 



332 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

1838. Dr. El wood was reappointed last year for a term of four years ; 
but lately sent in his resignation, to take effect from the close of the 
current quarter, 30th June. No appointment had been made to fill the 
vacancy when these pages were printed. 

A. K. Amsden is the principal assistant in the office, aided by A. M. 
Fish and two or three other clerks. 

Mails Leaving Rochester oy Stages and Railroads in 1838. 

A mail daily eastward through Canandaigua, departing at 4 A.M. 

Another on same route, leaving Rochester at 2 P.M. 

Another mail daily eastward through Palmyra 4 P.M. 

One daily mail west on the Ridge-Road to Lewiston, at 8 A. M. 

One daily mail west to Buffalo on the Tonnewanta Railroad, &c. 
The mail closes at Rochester at 8 A.M. and railroad cars start in win- 
ter at 9 A.M. ; in summer twice a day, 8 A.M. and 3 P.M. 

One daily mail south through Genesee, at 8 A.M. 

One daily mail south through Scottsville and Caledonia, at 8 A.M. 

One daily mail to Oswego, &c, at 4 A.M. 

Besides these, there are stages and mails for several of the neighbour- 
ing towns. 

CANAL TRADE AT ROCHESTER. 

Nowhere west of the Hudson is the annual receipt of canal toll so 
large as at the City of Rochester. Such is the extent to which our cit- 
izens are interested in the canal navigation, that the Rochester for- 
warders have a larger proportion of stock in the transportation lines 
than the people of any other city in the state — indeed, it is asserted that 
they own or control about one half of the whole amount of stock in 
those lines. 

Well might the editor of the Encyclopaedia Americana declare (even 
in 1831, since which our citizens have become still more largely inter- 
ested in the canal trade) that the great number of " boats built, equipped, 
and owned principally at Rochester, make it the seat of the transpor- 
tation business, and the various trades connected with it — giving em- 
ployment to numerous extensive boat-building establishments," &c. 
" The superior white oak and pine lumber here, with its central location 
at the turning point of water-conveyance between the West, New- York, 
and Montreal, confer these peculiar advantages on Rochester." — Ency- 
clopaedia Americana, vol. xi., p. 54. 

The enlargement of the Erie Canal will have an immense effect in 
enlarging the connexions of the people of Rochester with the trans- 
portation business and the boat-building, and other trades connected 
therewith. The construction of the Genesee Valley Canal, now spir- 
itedly commenced, must have also a powerful effect in increasing the 
prosperity of the city in like manner. 

Jas. Smith, Esq., of West Mendon, who in 1836 was canal collector 
here, furnished the following statement of the property received or ship- 
ped by the Erie Canal from Rochester (the commerce by Lake Onta- 
rio and Genesee River is elsewhere mentioned). Although in 1836, as 
in 1837, the influence of short crops and pecuniary pressure prevented 
such extensive flouring operations as would have otherwise taken place 
with the increased milling power, the export of our staple commodity 



CANAL TRADE. 



333 



amounted to about 370,000 barrels by the canal alone, exclusive of 
shipments by the lake and supplies for the surrounding country. The 
table is interesting as showing not merely the quantities, but the quali- 
ties of freight which arrived and departed at Rochester by the Erie 
Canal. 

1836. 
Sundries, lbs. 
Domestic spirits, gallons 
Boards and scantling, feet 
Shingles, M. 
Timber, feet 
Staves, lbs". 
Flour, bis. 
Wheat, bushels 
Barley, " 
Rye, " 

Corn, " 

Other grain, bushels 
Bran and ship stuffs, bushels 
Peas and beans, " 

Potatoes, " 

Pork, barrels, 
Beef, " 
Salt, « 
Ashes, " 
Lime, " 

Dried fruit, lbs. 

Clover and grass seed, " 
Flaxseed " 

Wool, 

Cotton, " 

Cheese, " 

Butter and lard, " 

Hops, " 

Tobacco, " 

Leather, " 

' Fur, 
Peltry, 

Gypsum, " 

Stone, " 

Domestic cotton, " 

Woollens, " 

Merchandise, " 

Furniture, " 

Clay, 

Mineral coal, " 

Pig iron, " 

Iron Ware, " 

; The toll at Rochester in 1836, $190,000 55, exceeded by about 
,16,000 the toll of the previous year ; so that about one quarter of the 
mole increase of toll on the canal in 1836 occurred at this city. 
1 The toll collected in 1837 amounted to $179,033 54, a smaller dirni- 



Shipped. 


Landed. 


1,668,575 


441,364 


44,978 




753,173 


229,780 


146 




9,500 


22,651 


585,688 


869,251 


368,842 


2,344 


151,714 


365,328 


2,112 






1,298 




8,323 


14,334 


15,230 


241,391 




1,141 




1,040 


440 


251 


303 


837 


688 


860 


19,977 


4,249 


212 


421 


2,642 


15,944 


2,330 


491,976 


81,093 


2,400 


3,620 


370,505 


6,525 


604 


51,231 


81,844 


9,042 


55,143 


14,430 


21,450 


4,229 


15,805 


49,296 


83,177 


17,131 




1,715 


56,912 


63,055 


224,899 


472,981 


1,306,672 


1,533,371 


8.782 




51,322 




3,688,360 


5,488,143 


2,115,904 


1,036,039 


8,820 


219,200 


346,450 


578,903 


68,095 


397,308 


383,097 


644,205 



334 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

nution from the sum of the previous year than might have been expected 
amid the general stagnation in the business of the country. 

Capt. Israel Smith is the present collector of canal toll at Rochester. 



THE ROCHESTER OR GENESEE DISTRICT. 

This revenue district has a frontier of about seventy miles on Lake 
Ontario, extending from Oak-Orchard Creek in Orleans county to So- 
dus Bay in Wayne county. A port of entry was established at what is 
now known as the harbour of Rochester in the year 1805, when Sam- 
uel Latta, residing at the junction of the river and lake, in the village of 
Charlotte, was appointed the first collector. Jesse Hawley held the 
office of collector for several years ; and in 1829 Jacob Gould, residing 
in Rochester, was appointed collector of the district, following Mr. 
Hawley. A deputy collector is stationed at Pulteneyville, Wayne i 
county ; another, Hiram Bumphrey, is stationed at the Ontario Steam- 
boat Landing, in the northern part of the City of Rochester ; a third, 
Henry S. Benton, is stationed at Charlotte, at the junction of the river ] 
and lake, five miles north of the north line of the City of Rochester. 
Asahel S. Beers is also a deputy collector and inspector of the district. 
There is a lighthouse at the west side of the mouth of the river, in r 
Charlotte. Another lighthouse, to be built of the best materials, will I 
be erected immediately at the northern extremity of the west pier of the ( 
artificial harbour which is now being constructed by the United States I 
government for benefiting the navigation, and which is particularly de- i 
scribed in the notice of the " Harbour of Rochester." 

Since the appointment of General Gould as collector of the Roches- s' 
ter or Genesee District, the office of Superintendent of the Lighthouses ■; 
on Lake Ontario has been connected with this collectorship. 

The misapprehensions or misrepresentations prevalent for a while 
respecting the Rochester or Genesee District induced the editors of the 
daily newspapers of both political parties to insert the following com- r 
munication, in justice to the business and supervision of the district, i 
The feeling which caused the publication of the article in the Roches- i 
ter Daily Democrat and Rochester Daily Advertiser prompts its inser- i 
tion here, as a matter not irrelevant either to the business of the dis- s 
trict or the history of the city. 

(From the Rochester Daily Democrat.) 

ROCHESTER OR GENESEE DISTRICT. 

It will not readily be forgotten that frequent reference was made . 
three years ago to the circumstance that the revenue collected in this 
district was then insufficient to pay the officers. The fact was seem- ' 
ingly overlooked, that in few districts of the Union, particularly on the : 
interior waters, is there much revenue collected ; the imports of dutia- ; 
ble goods being made in a few important districts, like New-York, 
Philadelphia, Boston, Baltimore, Charleston, New-Orleans, &c. It 
seemed to be forgotten that, if the frontiers, in the interior as well as 
on the seaboard, were left without officers to prevent contraband trade i 
in districts where sufficient duties were not usually accruing to pay . 



HARBOUR OF ROCHESTER. 335 

hose officers, the enormous revenue collected annually in New- York, 
&c, would speedily be reduced by the facility of smuggling goods, es- 
becially on our inland frontiers. 

The Genesee or Rochester District extends on Lake Ontario from 
Dak-Orchard Creek to Sodus Bay, about 70 miles ; and in few whole 
listricts in the interior has as much revenue been collected as at the 
single port of Rochester. Yet, although the revenue of the district is 
:hiefly collected at the port of Rochester, revenue officers must be 
stationed at Pulteneyville and other points, though the duties collected 
here be insufficient to pay their wages, as was the case under a former 
^ministration. The salaries of all the officers of the district, including 
he collector, have usually amounted to from $3500 to $4000. This 
.mount exceeded the revenue collected in the district till within the 
ast two years ; and if it were correct formerly, as was seemingly al- 
,eged, that " the pay of the officers should be proportioned to the small 
evenue then collected," the rule would work rather differently just 
,ow, as the duties collected in 1835-36 were, in the former year, about 
>26,000, and in the latter year about sixty thousand dollars. These 
urns were chiefly collected at the City of Rochester. The " spoils" 
fould indeed be worth contending for were there now u four dollars 
aid for collecting every one dollar," to use the phraseology employed 
)rmerly on the subject. As it is, the simple per centage for collecting 
( iis $60,000 would, by the former law, amount to almost double the 
urn at which the collector's salary has for some years been fixed — while 
le other emoluments formerly allowed would now swell the income of 
le collector alone to about $4000 per annum ; a sum about four times 
irger than he now actually receives, and about equal to the whole 
mount now and heretofore paid yearly to all the officers of the dis- 
:ict, including himself. 

These statements are made, not to revive old feuds or partisan ani- 
mosities, but in justice to the district and port of Genesee or Roches- 
;r, which were formerly needlessly depreciated, as well as to the offi- 
3rs of the district. 

Harbour of Rochester. 

An extract from the last report of the officer superintending the con- 
ruction of the artificial harbour at the junction of Lake Ontario and 
te Genesee River will explain the nature of the government works 
r accomplishing an object of such high importance to the port of Ro- 
lester and the navigation of Lake Ontario. In his communication of 
e 24th October, 1837, addressed to Gen. Gratiot, the chief engineer 
Washington, Lieut. William Smith, of the corps of United States 
ngineers, gives these interesting particulars of the improvement in 
ogress under his superintendence in the harbour of Rochester : — 
" The west pier extends two thousand six hundred and seventy feet 
to the lake, and the east pier two thousand six hundred and thirty- 
ur. They are both twenty feet wide, with the exception of a small 
irt of each, which is but sixteen. They consist of cribwork, each 
ib being sixteen or twenty feet wide and thirty feet long. The cribs 
e formed of side-pieces, centre-pieces, ties, and flooring ; to every 
io side and one centre stick there are four ties : the ties, which run 
toss the piers instead of being carried up the one directly above tho 



336 SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

other, break alternately backward and forward, to secure greater 
strength in the side timbers, and to afford places upon which a portion 
of the stone with which the cribs are filled may lodge. 

" Piles have been driven on the outside of the cribs, but they appear 
to have been productive of no very good effect ; stones thrown in by 
their side preventing the irregular settling of them much better. 

" The average height of the piers above the surface of the water is 
nearly three feet. The width of the harbour at its mouth is four hun- 
dred and forty-six feet ; and as the piers are not exactly parallel, it be- i 
comes broader as you enter. 

" To obtain a correct delineation of the bottom of the harbour, sec- 
tions were made across it sixty-six feet apart, and soundings taken at 
the end of every ten feet. Horizontal planes were passed at one foot . 
apart, and their intersections with the bottom ascertained. The ac- 
companying drawing will give a tolerably accurate idea of the present ,. 
state of the harbour. From it it will be seen that the greatest depth in i 
the channel between the piers is twenty-three feet, and the least twelve j 
feet four inches ; and that, at the entrance of the harbour, there is sev- \ 
enteen feet water. Within the piers, and to a distance of about three c 
miles, the average depth of the river is twenty-eight feet. 

" As both piers ran across what was once an extensive shoal, it was ? 
to be feared that a deposition of sand would take place immediately! 
beyond the mouth of the harbour ; but, on examination, it is found that; 
there is no appearance whatever of the formation of any shoal there.; 
From the centre of the channel between the piers, where the water is , 
seventeen feet deep, out to twenty-two feet water, the descent is as; 
gradual and as regular as the natural shore of the lake. The least 
depth of water beyond the end of the piers is sixteen feet. 

" The piers have been finished three years. The large shoal over, 
which they ran has been entirely removed ; and as there is now no evi-\ 
dence of the formation of any bar beyond them, it is reduced to an al-; 1 
most absolute certainty that any farther prolongation of the works intci 
the lake will never become necessary. 

" From the position of the piers and the width of the harbour at itsi 
mouth, whether the wind be from the northeast, north, or northwest, it,, 
can be entered with equal facility. This is undoubtedly a very greafr 
advantage, and one of which the navigators of the lake will avail them-) 
selves ; for vessels, when caught in a severe gale, if it be possible tc 
make this harbour, run to it for safety. , 

" For the purpose of contrasting the present state of the harbour with 
the condition of the mouth of the river previous to its improvement 
the old line of eight feet water has been laid down on the accom- 
panying drawing. The channel was then crooked, and the depth o 
water on the bar between eight and nine feet. Besides the want o 
sufficient water to allow the largest-sized vessels to enter, it was onlj 
when the wind was in a particular direction that vessels of any siz< 
could enter at all. There is now a channel four hundred and fifty-si: 
feet and over wide, perfectly straight, with a sufficient depth of watc 
for any vessel that navigates the lakes. 

" The whole work being an extent of pier something over a mile 
has, from its commencement to the 30th September last, cost $118,000 
By means of this expenditure, a very superior harbour has been obtain 
ed at the mouth of the Genesee River ; and though the attempt to forn 



HARBOUR OF ROCHESTER. *337 

an artificial one was at first but an experiment, it is an experiment 
, which has been attended with perfect success. 

" It now becomes a matter of great importance to secure perma- 
nently the advantages that have been obtained. 

I " When the works were examined by Col. Totten, of the engineer 
corps, he recommended, as a means of rendering them permanent, the 
conversion of the woodwork above low water mark into masonry. His 
plan was to build on the sides of the piers strong stone walls, using 
•hydraulic mortar ; to fill the intervening space with rubble stone, and 
to cover the top with flagging stones." 

[Here follows a plan of masonry for giving the greatest practicable 
degree of solidity and strength to the piers.] " The most convenient 
height for the piers above the surface of the water is six feet ; and as 
the waters of Lake Ontario are subject to a change of level of about 
•two feet, they will be built seven feet above the lowest low water 
mark. 

' " To render it practicable to reach the end of the western pier [on 
which the new lighthouse is to be built immediately] even in the most 
boisterous weather, a parapet wall three feet high and three feet thick 
will be added. This is indispensably necessary, for the light at the end 
bf this pier is of course much more needed in stormy weather than in 
lair. The space between the walls will be filled with rubble stone, and 
the top paved with heavy flagging stones." 

' To effect the completion of the harbour on the plan submitted by 
Lieut. Smith, the superintendent, that officer estimates the expense 
pet to be incurred at $160,000 ; of which there would be required for 
1838, $50,000 ; 1839, $60,000 ; 1840, $50,000. 

In viewing the great advantages already attained, and which should 
oe speedily and permanently secured to the navigation of Lake Ontario, 
t cannot be doubted that Congress will promptly vote the requisite 
neans. The growing trade of the lake generally, as well as the par- 
ticular interests of the City of Rochester, imperatively require the exer- 
:ise of enlightened liberality in this respect. 

The sum of $25,000 has been appropriated by Congress for the 
vorkto be done in 1838 on the Rochester harbour. 
' Ezra M. Parsons and Silas Ball have been the contractors for the 
vork since the improvement of the harbour was commenced. The 
ecent appointment of a gentleman like Lieut. Smith to superintend 
he improvement has been very satisfactory to those of our citizens 
'vho have taken most interest in the important enterprise. 

29 



338* SKETCHES OP ROCHESTER, ETC. 



GREAT PUBLIC WORKS IN WHICH ROCHESTER IS 
INTERESTED. 

1. Erie Canal Enlargement, with the rebuilding of the Great Aque- 
duct across Genesee River in Rochester ; 

2. The Genesee Valley Canal, from Rochester to the Allegany 
River at Olean ; 

3. The Rochester and Auburn Railroad, ) T . , . 

4. The Tonnewanta (or Rochester and Batavia) Railroad, J ijinks m 
the chain between the lakes and the Atlantic. 

5. The improvement of the Port of Rochester by the erection of ex- 
tensive piers, &c, at the junction of the river and lake — by the United 
States Government. 

Besides these, there are some minor works, such as the Railroad con- 
necting the Erie Canal and the Ontario Steamboat-Landing within the 
city limits, &c- 

1. Erie Canal Enlargement. 

The important project of expediting the enlargement of the Erie Ca- • 
nal has just received the approbation of the Legislature. Four millions i 
of dollars are to be applied annually till the completion of the work, , 
which object will probably be accomplished in about four years. The B ( 
original appropriation was but the annual nett revenue of the canals — a i 
sum which would not suffice for the enlargement in twelve or fifteen I 
years. Thus happily has triumphed the policy proposed by the West- • 
em Convention that met at Rochester in January, 1837, for urging the e 
speedy enlargement of the great water-way — the proceedings of which I 
convention are noticed in the article on the " Progress of Improve- 
ment." 

Now that adequate means are provided for expeditious operations — - 
now that the people of the state are becoming aroused to the impor- 
tance of the work — it may not be thought premature to suggest to the < 
canal commissioners the propriety of adopting the important plan of it 
walling the canal throughout its whole length. Some may consider the I 
project too great for accomplishment now in connexion with the other 
expensive work ; but we doubt not that it will very shortly be generally j 
considered advantageous to the state in various ways that the walling [, 
should be made simultaneously with the enlargement. The increased 
volume of water in the enlarged canal will render walling necessary, to 
prevent the calamities which would result from the breaches to which 
an enlargement without walls would considerably subject the trade and 
other interests of the state ; while a solid safeguard of masonry on 
both sides would enable the canal to be rendered navigable earlier every , 
spring, by rendering unnecessary the delays now requisite to repair 
earthen banks, &c. With such walls to protect the banks against 
washing away by the motion of the water, increased speed might be 
obtained even with horse-power on the enlarged body of water ; and it 
is not at all improbable that small steamboats would then be used to 
considerable extent — quickening much the transit of goods and pas- 
sengers. 

The wall would require to be about ten feet high on each side, from 
the foundation below the bottom-level rising about two feet above the 






ENLARGEMENT OF THE ERIE CANAL. *339 

surface-level of the water. The height of the two walls added together 
for the whole length of the line would be equivalent to about three hun- 
dred and fifty miles of solid masonry twenty feet high ! 

With such improvements, the Erie Canal would be indeed worthy of 
its great destiny in connecting the Atlantic Ocean with our inland seas ; 
an object comparable in magnificence with the wall of China and the 
Pyramids of Egypt. 

It is to be hoped that this project will be pressed steadily on the at- 
tention of the canal commissioners. 

Some particulars connected with the enlargement of the canal are 
given in the article about the " Progress of Improvement." The whole 
policy of the work is of vast interest to Rochester, connected as this 
city is with the transportation business, &c. 

The engineers stationed at Rochester for the fourth division of this 
work are Nathan S. Roberts and M. M. Hall. We are indebted to 
Judge Roberts, who was creditably concerned in the original construc- 
tion of the Erie Canal, for the following particulars of the principal fea- 
ture in the enlargement of that canal on the Rochester section. As 
this will probably be the most extensive aqueduct in the world, the par- 
ticulars will doubtless prove interesting to many readers : 

The new aqueduct at Rochester, now in progress, to be constructed 
alongside of the old edifice over the Genesee River, being the most 
'westerly portion for the enlargement of the Erie Canal at present under 
Contract, contains the following dimensions and general outlines. 

The trunk of the aqueduct, exclusive of the wings and weigh-lock, is 
444 feet long, and including the wings at the east end and the weigh- 
'lock at the west end of the trunk, is 848 feet long. The parapet walls 
forming the sides of the trunk are 10 feet thick at coping and 11 feet 
10 1-2 inches thick at the water-table, and are covered with a coping 
one foot thick and 11 feet wide, which is to support the railings. The 
width of the water-way of the trunk at the top-water line is 45 feet, and at 
its bottom, which is to be formed of cut stone, is 42 feet 8 inches. The 
aqueduct is to be supported on seven arches — segments of a circle ; the 
chord of each is 52 feet, and the versed sine is 10 feet ; the interior 
■arch line is 56 93-100 feet, subtending 84° 43' 44" of a circle. The 
arch stones forming the thickness of the arch are three feet long at the 
'piers and abutments, and two feet six inches at the crown. The 
courses of the arch stone vary in thickness from 17 inches at the spring 
to 11 inches at the crown, with a keystone of 16 inches. 

The weight and thrust of the arches is supported by two abutments 
and six piers, formed of large blocks of compact gray limestone, cut to 
joints which when laid shall not exceed 1-8 of an inch thick, and 
based on the solid rock forming the bed of the Genesee River. The 
'width of the abutments and piers is ten feet at their base, and they hold 
this width five feet to the spring of the interior arch line. The skem- 
backs are then placed, meeting in the centre of each pier, and in their 
rise of two feet three inches reducing the piers on their top to six feet 
wide : each pier then receives a binding course across of two feet rise 
and six feet long, forming the entire width of the top of each pier. This 
'last course, together with the skembacks, give a firm support to the 
thrust of the interior and exterior arch lines at the foot of each adjoin- 
ing arch. 

From the base of the piers to the top of the water-table is 18 feet six 



340* SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

inches, and from the top of the water-table to the top of the coping is 
eight feet six inches, making the whole height from the base of the piers 
to the top of the coping 27 feet. The width of the aqueduct, or length 
of each pier on its foundation, is 75 feet 6 inches ; and deduct from this 
the steps at each end of the piers, and the vertical batter of one to 
twelve of its rise, and it gives the width across the top of the trunk, 
over the coping, of a pilaster equal to 69 feet 2 inches. 

The stone of which the aqueduct in all its parts is to be constructed 
is of the best and most durable kind, being compact gray limestone. 
All the stone composing the abutments, piers, arches, water-table, lining 
of the trunk, and coping, and also the exterior of the spandrells, pilas- 
ters, parapet walls of the trunk and of the wings, is to be obtained at 
Onondaga or Lockport, and the interior of the spandrells and parapets 
is to be composed of stone from the bed of the Genesee River. All the 
stone first mentioned is to be cut to exact given dimensions or to pat- 
terns, and with such care and exactness that, when laid, no cut stone 
joint is to be more than 1-8 of an inch thick, including the necessary • 
mortar ; and the stone composing the interior, as above stated, is to be 
well hammer-dressed to parallel beds, and so laid as to have not more 
than 1-2 an inch joint ; the whole to be laid in the best of cement mor- • 
tar and grout, and to be impervious to water. 

The stones composing all parts of this massive work are proportion- • 
ably large, to ensure strength, solidity, and permanency to the struc- 
ture, and likewise to give a bold and appropriate appearance. 

The following are the principal items of labour required in construct- - 
ing this great work, viz. — 

Cubic yards. 
Rock to be blasted and removed out of the bed of the Genesee 
River in preparing the foundation for the abutments and piers, 
and to give a free passage for the floods of the river under 
the new arches, estimated at .... . 30,000 ) 
Masonry in the foundation of the east and west wings, and of the 
weigh-lock up to water-table, including the new arches over 
the west and east millraces ..... 9000 J 
Masonry in the new weigh-lock and the foundation of the offices 
on its north wall (which is not yet under contract) is esti- 
mated at 2000 J ! 

Masonry in the aqueduct and wings, as estimated when com- 
pleted 15,380 : 

Progress of the Work. — Of the above work the amount done of each 
kind up to this time (January, 1838) is as follows, viz. — 

Cubic yards. 
Rock taken out of the bed of the Genesee River . . 20,000 
Masonry laid for the foundation of the weigh-lock, the west mill- 
race arch, the west and east wings, and all the centring and 
cut stone for the east millrace arches, are prepared and deliv- 
ered, amounting to 6000 

Cut stone for different parts of the aqueduct, prepared and 

mostly delivered, amounting to 2500 

Materials for the centring for the aqueduct are delivered and mostly 
framed to the form required to support the arches. 

Force Employed. — Captain Buell has employed near 100 men through 
the summer in blasting rock in the bed of the river and on other parts of 



GENESEE VALLEY CANAL. *341 

the foundation of the aqueduct ; and Messrs. Kasson and Brown, con- 
tractors for the aqueduct, have a force of near 200 men employed at 
Onondaga and other places in preparing and cutting stone for the aque- 
duct. Their progress for some months past has been very favourable, 
and it is expected will so continue until the aqueduct is completed, which 
is to be in October, 1839. 

Improved Weigk-Lock connected with Aqueduct. — In connexion with 
the west wing of the aqueduct is the weigh-lock and the canal offices. 
This weigh-lock is on an improved plan : its dimensions are the same 
as other improved locks. In its location, its chamber ranges nearly 
parallel to the line of navigation through the aqueduct, with double 
gates at each end. Over the weigh-lock a stone building is to be 
erected, 80 feet in length by 48 feet in width, and two stories or 20 feet 
in height. Besides the weighing apparatus and the weighmaster's office, 
the building is to contain the offices of the inspector, the superintendent, 
and the collector of tolls. So that a boat from the east or from the 
west enters the weigh-lock, is weighed, inspected, and pays her toll, 
and, without further hinderance, passes out at the opposite gates of the 
lock and pursues her course ; and, at the same time, two boats from op- 
posite directions, and not requiring to be weighed, can pass each other 
outside of the weigh-lock, as the passage is so spacious that two boats 
may pass each other without interference or delay in any part of the 
aqueduct. 

Agents and others engaged in the forwarding business will experi- 
ence a great convenience and saving of time and expense in having all 
these offices thus located, as being convenient for boats passing east or 
west, and in a very central position for the business of the City of 
Rochester. 

2. The Genesee Valley Canal, from Rochester to the Allegany 
, River at Olean. 

The engineers stationed at Rochester, in connexion with the con- 
struction of the Genesee Valley Canal, are Frederic C. Mills, Henry 
l Stanley Dexter, J. B. Stillson, Daniel Marsh, S. V. R. Paterson, 
George D. Stillson, Burton W. Clark, and Daniel M'Henry. 

As it is our wish to present the reader with statements as nearly 
,official as practicable respecting the actual condition of all the public 
improvements connected with Rochester, we called for information 
, at the Genesee Valley Canal Office in the city. The chief en- 
gineer, Mr. Mills, and the principal resident engineer, Mr. Dexter, were 
temporarily absent from Rochester on official duties ; but we were po- 
litely furnished by J. B. Stillson, one of the assistant engineers, with 
I the following memoranda, which embrace some matters not included in 
the account of this canal inserted in our account of the progress of im- 
provement in the canal system : 

" Governor Clinton recommended the construction of this canal as 
, early as 1824. A survey was made under the direction of Judge Ged- 
des in 1828. 

i " An act passed in 1834 authorizing a resurvey. The survey was 
accordingly made during the season under the direction of F. C. Mills. 
It was then estimated to cost $1,890,614 12. A law was passed by 
the Legislature in May, 1836, ' to provide for its construction.' No 
part of the canal, however, was put under contract until June, 1837, 
29* 



342* SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

when about two miles was let. In November following about 28 miles 
more was put under contract. 

" The canal is located on the west side of the Genesee River to the 
village of Mount Morris, where it is to cross to the east side by an 
aqueduct. At this place a large amount of lockage occurs. The ca- 
nal ascends the hill by a succession of consecutive locks — in a dis- 
tance of about 4 miles rising 450 feet. After passing this elevation, 
the canal pursues a nearly direct course to the Portage Hills — along the 
northern or western face of which it is to be constructed — passing in its 
course along the very brink of the Nunda Falls. The perpendicular 
banks of the river at some points between the second and third falls at 
Nunda are between 300 and 400 feet above its level. These banks 
are generally of alluminous shale or graywacke, with occasional strata 
of sand rock sufficiently hard for building purposes. 

" This is the most picturesque and also the most expensive portion 
of the canal. At Portage, beside Nunda Falls, the canal recrosses the 
river by an aqueduct, and pursues the valley until it enters the valley 
of Black Creek, which it follows to the summit. Descending from the 
summit, the canal follows the valley of Oil Creek to Hinsdale, where 
it receives a feeder from the Ischua. From Hinsdale the canal pur- 
sues the valley of Olean Creek to the Allegany River, where it is to 
terminate. 

" The deficiency of water on the summit level is to be supplied by 
artificial reservoirs. This level is about 12 miles long ; is 79 feet 
above the Allegany at Olean point, 1057 feet above the Erie Canal at 
Rochester, and 1484 feet above low tide at Albany. 

" A side cut is to be constructed along the Canaseraga Valley from 
Mount Morris to Dansville, a distance of 15 miles. The whole amount 
of lockage on the main canal from Rochester to Olean is 1057 feet, and 
on the side cut about 100 feet. The distance from Rochester to Mount 
Morris by canal is 37 miles ; from Rochester to Dansville, 52 miles ; 
and from Rochester to Olean, 106 miles." 

Opinions respecting the value of the Genesee Canal. 

The magnitude of the subject will excuse a further reference to the I 
Genesee (or Rochester and Olean) Canal. The apathy which has so i 
long prevailed on this matter having now happily been dissipated by ' 
the spread of knowledge respecting it, and the work fully sanctioned by j 
the legislative authority, the writer of these notes, actuated by the 
same views that prompted him twelve years ago, when calling attention 
to the subject through the daily paper of which he was editor (estab- 
lished in Rochester in 1826), cannot refrain from quoting with hearty 
satisfaction the sanguine calculations now made by some of the most 
intelligent men of the state respecting the value of the Genesee Canal, 
in every point of view which could render it desirable as a work of im- 
mense value, not merely to this state or to the local interests of the sec- 
tion through which it runs, but to a large portion of the American con- 
federacy. 

In the " Appeal to the People of the State of New- York and to their 
Representatives in the Legislature," made by a committee of citizens in 
New- York in 1833 (Christian Bergh chairman, and Edwin Williams 
secretary), in favour of a " Canal from Rochester on the Erie Canal to 
Olean on the Allegany River," it is stated that, after a full discussion, 



GENESEE VALLEY CANAL. *343 

it was unanimously resolved, " That, in the opinion of the meeting, from 
information obtained from authentic sources, the proposed canal will 
have an important bearing on the growth and prosperity of the state, 
■ particularly of the City of New- York ; inasmuch as it will open a new 
. and great thorougfare through the rich valleys of the Genesee and Ohio 
: to the Mississippi." In the same appeal the proposed work is styled 
I " a new branch of the Erie Canal, which can scarcely be sufficiently de- 
scribed by a name so limited as the Genesee and Allegany Canal" — 
while it is asserted by these New-Yorkers that " this canal, as a pub- 
lic highway, is preferable at the present time to every other mode of 
connecting the great western rivers with the waters of New-York Har- 
bour." 

In reply to a request from the New- York committee that he would 
" communicate any statistical facts having a bearing on the proposed 
Genesee and Erie Canal," Edwin Williams, the well-known author of 
;the Annual Register and Universal Gazetteer, said in 1833 — 

■ This canal appears to me to be the most important work of internal improvement 
that has been proposed in this state since the construction of the Erie and Champlain 
Canals. It is proposed to connect the Erie Canal at Rochester with the Allegany 
River at Olean by a canal about 90 miles in length, following the valley of the Gen- 
.esee River. I understand this was a favourite project of the late Governor Clinton, 
who considered the connexion of the waters of the Allegany River with those of the 
Hudson second in importance only to the connexion between the latter and the great 
'lakes. Indeed, it may be doubted whether the union of the waters of New- York 
'"with the Ohio Valley by this route is not equal in importance to the extension of the 
Erie Canal to Lake Erie. It has been a matter of surprise to many intelligent per- 
sons that the state has so long delayed the construction of a work promising such 
incalculable benefits as the proposed canal. When completed, it is believed that 
more property ivillpass upon it, to and from Rochester, than on the Erie Canal west 
\of that place. 

"The proposed canal will pass through part of the counties of Monroe, Livingston, 
Allegany, and Cattaraugus, intersecting one of the most fertile sections of the state, 
and a considerable portion of it abounding in valuable timber, of the utmost impor- 
tance to the towns and villages on the Erie Canal, on the Hudson River, and to New- 
York city in particular, for the purposes of building. For this object alone, and from 
justice to the people of a sequestered portion of the state, now deprived of a good mar- 
ket for their lumber and produce, this work ought to be constructed from motives of 
policy, interest, and justice. 

"But when we take into view the vast extent of country embraced in the Ohio 
and Mississippi Valleys, our sense of the immense consequence of the proposed canal 
to this state and the internal commerce of the City of New-York is greatly enhanced. 
■The Allegany River is navigable for steamboats a great pari of the year — may, at 
iSmall expense, be much improved — and unites with the Monongahela to form the 
Ohio at Pittsburgh, 260 miles below the termination of the proposed canal. Upward 
'of 20,000 miles of navigable rivers, it is estimated, pour their waters into the Ohio and 
Mississippi Rivers, and of the fertile regions bordering on these waters, it is believed 
iat least two thirds would find the Genesee and Allegany Canal the most convenient 
channel to a market on the Atlantic. A large portion of the states of Ohio, Pennsyl- 
vania, Virginia, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, and Tennessee, would make 
use of this communication. They would by this means avoid the uncertain market 
of New-Orleans, the circuitous route by the Ohio Canal and Lake Erie, and a pas- 
sage by railroads over the Allegany Mountains. It is evident that the route we pro- 
pose to establish by this canal must be preferred Foa cheapness, safety, and expe- 
dition combined, to any other that can be named, for the transportation of produce 
and merchandise to and from the Ohio Valley and the Atlantic ports. 

" The benefits which the City of New- York would derive from this work are evi- 
dent to every person of observation. It would greatly extend our trade with the in- 
terior, and open new channels for enterprise in the establishment of manufacturing 
and commercial villages, which would pour their increasing trade into this commer- 
cial mart of America. Taking into view the great increase of trade and population 
which has resulted to this city from the construction of the Erie and Champlain Ca- 
nals, it is deemed safe to estimate the enhanced value of real estate in the City of 
New- York, in consequence of the completion of the Genesee and Allegany Canal, when 



344* SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

that event shall take place, at five per cent, on the present amount, which was an- 
praised last year at $104,042,405. 

"The distance of Rochester from Albany by the Erie Canal is 270 miles; front 
thence to Olean by the proposed canal, say 90 miles ; total distance from Albany to 
Glean, 360 miles, and from New- York to the same, 510 miles. From Olean to Pitts- 
burgh is 260 miles ; thence to the mouth of the Ohio, 900 miles ; thence to New-Or- 
leans, 990 miles. Total distance from Olean to New-Orleans, 2180 miles, making 
an inland navigation from New-York to New-Orleans of 2690 miles." 

As an appropriate conclusion to these opinions respecting the Ro- 
chester and Allegany Canal, the opinion of another active citizen of 
New- York may be quoted, who says — 

" Viewing it only as a link in a grand communication with the Ohio, by a ready, 
cheap, and direct route, and a sufficient reason is presented for its construction. But 
when we consider it in a more national and enlarged sense, and recognise in it an 
extension of our grani) canal, by which the City of New- York will be united 
with the immense regions of country through which flow the navigable rivers of the 
great and fruitful west, it swells from thk mino;* importance of a branch 
canal to a RIVALRY WITH THE GREATEST RIVER ON THE FACE OF 
THE HABITABLE GLOBE." 

3. Rochester and Auburn Railroad. 

The cheering intelligence has just spread before the public that this 
important enterprise is added to the list of public works which are to 
be completed with all practicable speed, the delays having been occa- 
sioned by the condition of the money market, and the desire to secure 
a modification of the charter. Preparations are made for immediate 
operations on the route. Among the works first undertaken will be the 
Railroad Bridge across the Genesee in Rochester, a few rods from the 
brink of the Middle or Main Falls, together with a Railroad Depot on 
the west side of the river, and other important improvements. The 
depot will occupy part of the premises of Messrs. Everard Peck and 
Walter S. Griffith, between the west bank of the river and Mill-street, 
on which street the depot will front. In connexion with this, a street 
is to be opened in front of the depot through to State-street, through the 
block owned chiefly by Messrs. W. W. Campbell, of New- York, and E. 
Darwin Smith, of Rochester. As the whole route between Auburn and 
Albany will be completed about the same time as the Rochester and 
Albany Railroad, we may anticipate that, in the course of three years, 
the journey between Rochester and New- York will be made by railroad . 
and steamboat within twenty-four hours, or between sunrise on one day ; 
and the same period on the following day ! Visionary as the prediction 
may seem at first sight, a little calculation will show its practicability j 
and probability. 

Robert Higham, the well-known engineer and commissioner of the 
Rochester and Auburn Railroad, declares that " the whole distance 
between Rochester and Auburn may be passed without having any 
grade to exceed twenty-eight feet ascent or descent per mile, and 
that without any deep cuttings on the summits or high embankments 
in the valleys. The curves generally will be of a large radius, only one 
being as low as 1000 feet." "The route estimated upon," adds Mr. 
Higham, " commences at the termination of the Auburn and Syracuse 
Railroad, and passes through the several places mentioned in the char- 
ter, to wit, Seneca Falls, Waterloo, Geneva, Vienna, Canandaigua, and 
Victor, and extending to a point on the west side of the Genesee River, 
in the central part of the City of Rochester, where the Tonnewanta (or 
Rochester and Batavia or Buffalo) Railroad can be connected with it by 



TONNE WANTA RAILROAD. *345 

a route that admits of using locomotive power to the junction of the 
two roads in Rochester. The distance from the village of Auburn to 
the City of Rochester by this route will be 78 1-2 miles." And a 
beautiful route it is, passing through a country rich by nature and by im- 
provement, and through several of the finest towns of Western New- 
York. Mr. H. thinks the work will be finished in two years. 

The commissioner further declares that " the work throughout will 
be of a plain and easy character, without any heavy rock excavation or 
expensive river walling, and with as little perishable structure as perhaps 
any road of the same extent in the United States." " Considering this 
as one of the links in the great chain of Western Railroads from Bos- 
ton to Buffalo and the ' Far West,' " he adds, " the estimates are made 
on a scale of corresponding character and magnitude to accommodate 
the business of this great and increasing thoroughfare ; and nothing 
short of a double track will, in my opinion, be adequate for any great 
period. This is indicated by the fact that the travel of the Utica and 
Schenectady Railroad, which forms another link in the same chain, 
already requires the second track to do the business of carrying pas- 
sengers only ; and the fact that the Tonne wanta Railroad (from Ro- 
chester to Batavia), with its present accommodations, having only a 
single track, is inadequate to the business, although trains of cars run 
day and night." Simon Traver, Resident Engineer. 

4. Tonneioanta Railroad, on the line between Lake Erie and the 
Atlantic. 

The President of the Tonnewanta Railroad Company is David E. 
Evans ; the Vice-president, Jonathan Childs ; the Treasurer, A. M. 
Schermerhorn ; the Secretary, Frederic Whittlesey. All, save the 
first-named gentleman, reside in Rochester. Mr. Evans lives at Ba- 
tavia. The engineer was Elisha Johnson. 

This work might have been more appropriately named from the towns 
'which it connects than from the stream through whose valley it partly 
passes. It is finished how as far as Batavia, but is to be continued to 
Attica, and will connect with the proposed route from one of the latter 
points to Buffalo. The present agent at Rochester is A. Sprague. 

Travelling by locomotives was commenced on this road between Ro- 
chester and Batavia in May, 1837. The length of this route is a frac- 
tion less than thirty-two miles, which is a shorter distance than that 
of any other road existing between the two points. There are but few 
curves, and those are so slight as to be scarcely perceptible, in this rail- 
road. The average ascent is about twelve feet per mile. The grade 
has been of comparatively easy construction, except in the section near 
Batavia, where two heavy excavations and two considerable embank- 
ments greatly retarded the completion of the work. The construction 
and importance of this railroad have elicited remarks from the Buffalo 
preBs, which show that the character of the work is fully appreciated 
elsewhere than in the city of Rochester. 

[ Preferring generally in this volume to quote the testimony of those 
whose local position or other circumstances may be supposed to free 
ihem from undue partialities on questions particularly connected with 
!;he affairs of Rochester, we here substitute some remarks from the 
Buffalo Commercial Advertiser in lieu of our own observations. 



346* SKETCHES OP ROCHESTER, ETC. 

11 The charter of the Tonnewanta Railroad Company extends for fifty 
years from April 24th, 1832. The capital stock is $500,000, in shares 
of $100 each — $70 per share have been paid in upon the stock, making, 
in the whole, the sum of $350,000. There have been expended by 
the company about $375,000. In addition to the expenditure upon the 
road itself, the company have purchased lands in Rochester and Ba- 
tavia, for the necessary purposes of the road, to the amount of about 
$20,000. They have erected an engine-house, machine-shop, car- 
houses, shops for making cars, and other buildings about the Depot in 
Rochester. 

" The road has been constructed with great solidity, upon a plan be- 
lieved to have been heretofore untried, proposed by Elisha Johnson, of 
Rochester, chief engineer of the work. This plan is probably prefera- 
ble to that of any road not made of more durable materials. The 
yearly expense of repairs will be much less than upon other roads, 
while the danger arising from cars running off the track is much di- 
minished by the fact that they will, in such cases, have a smooth road 
of earth to run upon, unobstructed by any cross timbers above ground. 
Much of this road has stood the test of two winters, and has exhibited 
the effects of frost much less than the common railroads. 

" The whole expense of acquiring title to land for the road, and for 
constructing the railway and fixtures thereon, is something less than 
$10,000 per mile. The construction of the track from Batavia upon 
the Tonnewanta Creek to Attica, twelve miles, will cost about $100,000. 
The cost of constructing the entire road, and finishing it fully, with 
cars, locomotives, and depots, $700,000. 

" A glance at the map of Western New- York will show the importance 
of this route. The entire travel which throngs through the western part 
of the state now either passes through Rochester by canal or stage 
on one route, or through Avon, Le Roy, and Batavia by stage on an- 
other route still farther south. This railroad passes from an important 
point on one route to an important point on the other, and connects 
the two. It is also a connecting link in the great chain of railroads 
from Boston to Buffalo ; or, to carry out the plan, from Bangor in 
Maine to Rock River on the Mississippi ! This chain is rapidly forging, 
link by link. The important point for us to reach directly is Boston ; but 
the march of improvement is pushing thence northeastward by railroads, 
through Salem, Newburyport, Portsmouth, and Portland to Bangor, in 
distant Maine ! 

" It is a swelling thought to contemplate the vast, the varied, the im- 
portant interests which these lines of direct and swift communication, 
with their far-reaching ramifications, will embrace, unite, and strength- 
en ! All the thousand ties of daily mutual intercourse twining stronger 
and stronger together the many-stranded cord of national union ! * * * 

" When the entire route from Rochester to Buffalo is completed, 
even before the Rochester and Auburn Road is finished, it is estimated 
that not less than four or five hundred passengers will pass daily from 
point to point during the travelling season of the year. The price of 
passage from Rochester to Batavia is one dollar and fifty cents ; from 
Rochester to Buffalo it will be three dollars. The whole road will be 
run, it is contemplated, under a single arrangement with one set of cars 
and locomotives. 

" A slight calculation from the above data will show how great must 
be the income, even after making every allowance for expenses. If we 



ROCHESTER RAILROAD. *347 

suppose the receipts of the route from Rochester to Batavia to be $1000 
per day (which is less than the above estimate would warrant) for 240 
days, it would give for receipts $240,000. If we suppose the ex- 
penses to be $200 per day for the same time (which is much greater 
than present expenses would justify), it would give for expenses 
$46,000, and the balance or profit would be nearly $200,000, which, 
upon a capital of $700,000, would be nearly thirty per cent. 

u The carrying of produce and merchandise will be a very important 
item in the receipts of the Tonnewanta Railroad. It will give, accord- 
ing to computation from the business done upon the road last fall, an 
aggregate of more than ten thousand tons annually, requiring at least 
one hundred freight cars drawn by locomotives. It will, at any rate, 
aid in defraying, if it does not quite defray the expenses of the pas- 
senger trains, and leave almost the entire income from passengers a 
clear profit. 

" The speedy completion of the railroad from Batavia to Buffalo is 
now a very desirable thing. It has been already commenced on the 
line between Batavia and Pembroke, the land requisite having been 
some time since purchased by the company who have undertaken the 
project, and the necessary surveys made. The route is one of the most 
feasible in the United States — is a straight line for the whole distance, 
and the descent is uniform, not averaging more than eight feet to the 
mile, and requiring no stationary power. When this is completed, the 
whole line from Rochester to Buffalo will be nearly straight, and the 
distance less than 67 miles ; while the distance between the two 
places by the present travelled road is 74 miles, and by the canal 93 
miles. The railroad can be traversed in three, or at the most in four 
hours, while the stages consume from fifteen to eighteen hours, and 
the canal-packets about twenty-four hours in passing between the two 
places. 

" The company engaged in the Buffalo and Batavia Railroad con- 
sists of some of the most wealthy citizens of Buffalo, associated with 
several other gentlemen of Batavia and Rochester. The capital stock is 
$480,000. The cost of the road is not accurately estimated, but will 
probably be considerably less per mile than that of the Tonnewanta 
Railroad. As much progress will be made in the work this season as 
practicable, and next year will most probably witness its completion. In- 
deed, we are hardly too sanguine in assuming that within two years, 
or in the year 1840, the entire route from Boston to Buffalo (through 
the city of Rochester) will be in active and successful operation." 

Rochester Railroad. 

The President of the company is John Greig ; the Treasurer, A. M. 
Schermerhorn ; the Secretary, F. M. Haight. Mr. Greig resides at Can- 
andaigua, the other gentlemen at Rochester. 

The road has been in operation a few years. Its length is about two 
miles on a straight line. It runs between the east end of the Canal 
Aqueduct in the southern part of Rochester and the Ontario Steamboat- 
Landing at the northern boundary of the city — thus connecting the trade 
of the Erie Canal with that of the Genesee River and Lake Ontario. 
The road runs close to the east bank of the river, and at some points 
passes within a few feet of the edge of the perpendicular banks, about 
one hundred and fifty feet high. Horace Hooker & Co. are lessees of 
this road — Mr. Hinsdale the agent. 



348* SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 



TRADE AND MANUFACTURES OF ROCHESTER. 

Preliminary Notice of the Genesee River. 

Besides the particulars of this stream incidentally included in the ac- 
count of the climate and soil of the valley, some further information is 
necessary to a correct appreciation of the characteristics of the Gene- 
see. As the river runs through the centre of the city, furnishing the 
hydraulic advantages which form prominent ingredients in the prosperity 
of Rochester, such particulars may be appropriately introduced here, 
preliminary to an account of the manufactures and other business of 
the city. 

The name, expressive as the generality of Indian designations, is in- 
dicative of the characteristics of the country through which the river 
flows. The word Genesee signifies Pleasant Valley. Few rivers of 
equal extent have scenery more picturesque — there are none with banks 
more fertile. From its rise in Pennsylvania, till it mingles its waters 
with Lake Ontario near the City of Rochester, the shores of the Gen- 
esee present a succession of beauties, such as in other lands would at- 
tract crowds of admiring travellers.* 

The source is not less remarkable than the course of the Genesee. 
The table land in which it originates is about 1700 feet above the At- 
lantic level, and furnishes within a space of six miles square streams 
which flow towards the ocean in opposite directions — through the St. 
Lawrence, the Chesapeake Bay, and the Gulf of Mexico ! The bold 
and romantic features of its shores are strikingly exemplified in a brief 
portion of its course through Allegany county, in the State of New- 
York. Within a couple of miles the river is precipitated upward of 
three hundred feet ! This great descent embraces threet perpendicu- 
lar pitches — the Falls of Nunda. — 'presenting much of the sublime and 

* Setting aside ancient associations, how will the celebrated cataracts of the Nile 
compare even with the falls of the Genesee in Rochester 1 Let the young American 
traveller, Stephens, reply :— 

u The road lay nearly all the way along the Nile, commanding a full view of the 
cataracts, or, rather, if a citizen of a New World may lay his innovating hand upon 
things consecrated by the universal consent of ages, what we who have heard the 
roar of Niagara would call simply ' the rapids.' * * * The principal cataract (I con- 
tinue to call it cataract by courtesy) is a fall of about two feet ! * * * And these were 
the great cataracts of the Nile, whose roar in ancient days affrighted the Egyptian 
boatmen, and which history and poetry have invested with extraordinary ideal ter- 
rors! The traveller who has come from a country as far distant as mine, bringing 
all that freshness of feeling with which a citizen of the New World turns to the sto- 
ried wonders of the Old, and has roamed over the mountains and drunk of the rivers 
of Greece, will have found himself so often cheated by the exaggerated accounts of 
the ancients, the vivid descriptions of poets, and his own imagination, that he will 
hardly feel disappointed when he stands by this apology for a cataract. Here the 
Nubian boys had a great feat to show, viz., jump into the cataract and float down to 
the point of the island. The inhabitants of the countries bordering on the Nile are 
great swimmers, and the Nubians are perhaps the best of all; but this was no 
great feat. The great and ever-to-be-lamented Sam Patch would have made the 
Nubians stare, and shown them, in his own pithy phrase, ' that some folks could do 
things as well as other folks ;' and I question if there is a cataract on the Nile at 
which that daring diver would not have turned up his nose in scorn." — Incidents of 
Travel in Egypt, <fcc. 

t On some maps, and in most statements, but two falls are noticed at Nunda or 
rortage. 



THE GENESEE RIVER. *349 

beautiful — the ravine worn through rock by the river (leaving perpen- 
dicular banks of from two to four hundred feet) being scarcely less won- 
derful than the cataracts of the stream. 

Descending from the high lands of Allegany and emerging from be- 
tween rocky banks of great height, the Genesee courses through a re- 
gion of opposite character — a region unsurpassed in fertility, and replete 
with charms rivalling those with which poetry has invested the flowery- 
meadows of Old England. Rarely does the eye rest upon a lovelier 
scene than the valley of this stream presents from the villages of Gene- 
seo* or Mount Morris, which are built on declivities on either side of 
the flats. Here are the beauties of nature most harmoniously blended 
with the elements of agricultural wealth. At this portion of the Valley 
of the Genesee the prospect is bounded by the swelling uplands on 
either side and the Allegany hills in the southern distance. " The Gen- 
esee Flats in particular, to which, probably, the Indian appellation refer- 
red, must strike every eye as peculiarly worthy of the name," remarks 
the intelligent chronicler in Peck's Directory of Rochester for 1827. 
"These flats are either natural prairies or Indian clearings; of which, 
however, the Indians have no traditions. Contrasting their smooth ver- 
dure with the shaggy hills that bound the horizon from Avon southwardly, 
and their occasional clumps of spreading trees, with the tall and naked 
relics of the forest, nothing can strike with a more agreeable sensation 
the eye long accustomed to the interrupted prospects of a level and 
wooded country. Had the Indians who first gave this name to the val- 
ley beheld the flocks and herds that now enliven its landscape, and 
the busy towns with spires overlooking it from the neighbouring hills, 
the boats transporting its superabundant wealth down its winding 
stream, and the scenes of intellectual and moral felicity to which it con- 
tributes in the homes of its present enlightened occupants — and had 
they been able to appreciate all this, they would have contrived the long- 
est superlative which their language could furnish to give it a name."f 

* " A tract of about 1200 acres, situate in a bend of the river at this point, is usually 
called Big-tree, or the Big-tree Bend tract, from an Indian chief of the name of Big- tree, 
who, with his little band of Senecas, cultivated the flats in this bend when the whites 
first settled in 1790," said SpafTord in 1824. " Here are now Wadsworth's Farms, cele- 
brated for their fertility, products, and stock ; and these flats are very productive 
of hemp, first raised here in 1801, now extensively cultivated in this county. In 
Fall-brook, beside these flats and near the river, there is a cascade of near 100 feet 
perpendicular. This town was first settled in the summer of 1790 by William and 
James Wadsworth, principal proprietors, who came from the State of Connecticut." 
* * * * " In 1797 I found the settlements but feeble, contending with innumerable 
difficulties," adds Spafford. "In order to see the whole 'power of the country,' a 
military muster of all the men capable of bearing arms, I waited a day or two and 
attended ' the training.' Major Wadsworth was then the commanding officer ; and, 
including the men who had guns and who had not, with the boys, women, and chil- 
dren, it was supposed that nearly 200 persons were collected. This training, one of 
the first in Ontario county, was held at Captain Pitts's, on the Honeoye, and lasted all 
day and night." The Honeoye is a creek that joins Genesee River between Rochester 
and Avon ; and on it is situate the flourishing village of Honeoye Falls, formerly 
West Mendon. 

t As we have some curiosity in examining what was said about this country by 
the early settlers, we quote a note by Captain Williamson, as found in Maude's 
Travels :— 

" It is difficult to account for these openings (large tracts of land free of timber), 
or for the open flats on the Genesee River, where 10,000 acres may be found in one 
body, not even encumbered with a bush ; but covered with grass of such height that 
the largest bullocks, at thirty feet from the path, will be completely hid from the view. 
This kind of land, from the ignorance of the first settlers in regard to its quality, was 

30 



350* SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

The pleasantness of the valley from Geneseo to Rochester is prover 
bial. The stream is extremely serpentine in its course for the greater 
part of this space. 

Various thriving villages are scattered along the banks ; and the thou- 
sands who visit the Avon Springs* find the country as agreeable as 
the mineral waters are salutary. The bridge across the river at Avon, 
on the road between Canandaigua and Buffalo, was the first crossing- 
place erected on the Genesee, nearly twenty years before Rochester 
existed even in name. 

The Falls of the Genesee in Rochester are remarkable for their ap- 
pearance as well as for their hydraulic power, as may be conjectured 
from the fact that the river is precipitated about 260 feet within the 
city limits. Though the mere business man may calculate the hydraulic 
value of the falls in dollars and cents, they afford a scene valuable beyond 
price to the geologist and mineralogist. By one who can " look on Na- 
ture with admiring eye," an hour spent in rambling along the banks in and 
around Rochester could rarely be more pleasantly appropriated. The 
deep channel worn by the river displays occasionally on either side pre- 
cipitous banks, exhibiting various strata, petrifactions, &c. ; and those 
who are curious in such matters imagine they discover in superincum- 
bent rocks marks of the attrition of water strongly corroborative of the 
prolific theory respecting the ancient height of Lake Ontario. 

Nor is this section destitute of historic interest. Tradition recounts 
adventures from which the pen of Irving might be profitably employed in 
sketching illustrations of the aborigines and scenery of his native state. 
The valley of the Genesee was the theatre of many scenes important in 
the history of the Six Nations — those bold warriors whose conquests 
over other tribes from Canada to Georgia won for them the title of the 
Romans of America.! 

supposed to be barren ; and six years ago (in 1792) would not have sold for twenty- 
five cents an acre — it is now, in 1798, reckoned cheap at ten dollars an acre." — And 
not dear in 1838 at ten times its price in 1798. 

* Among the earliest settlers at this early-settled point on the Genesee, the Hosmers 
may be named ; from the present head of which family, George Hosmer, we hava 
gathered many particulars respecting the early settlements ; some of which are im- 
bodied in the appendix. William C. H. Hosmer, son of Judge H., is known as the 
author of several beautiful poetical contributions to the periodical and daily press ; 
some of which refer to the former occupants and principal scenes of the Genesee 
Valley. 

t Among the historical events connected with the Genesee, it may be mentioned 
that, in 1683, M. Delabarre, the governor-general of Canada, marched w.th an army 
against the cantons of the Five Nations. He landed near Oswego ; but, finding him- 
self incompetent to meet the enemy, he instituted a negotiation and demanded a con- 
ference. "On this occasion," says De Witt Clinton, "Garangula, an Onondaga 
chief, attended in behalf of his country, and made the celebrated reply toM. Delabarre. 
* * * The French retired from the country with disgrace. The second general 
expedition was undertaken in 1687 by M. Denonville, governor-general. He had 
treacherously seized several of their chiefs, and sent them to the galleys in France. 
He was at the head of an army exceeding 2000 men. He landed in Irondequoit Bay 
[about four miles from Genesee River], and, when near a village of the Senecas, was 
attacked by 500, and would have been defeated if his Indian allies had not rallied and 
repulsed the enemy. After destroying some provisions and burning some villages, 
he retired without any acquisition of laurels. The place on which this battle was 
fought has been, within a few years, owned by Judge Porter of Niagara. On plough- 
ing the land, three hundred hatchets and upward of three thousand pounds of old iron 
were found, being more than sufficient to defray the expense of clearing it." 



WATER-POWER OF THE GENESEE. *351 



The Water-power of the Genesee. 

Calculations have been made that the quantity of water generally- 
passing in the Genesee River at Rochester is about 20,000 cubic feet 
per minute. The water-power has also been estimated as equal to 
about two thousand steam-engines of twenty horse power ; and, esti- 
mating horse-power as valued in England, it has been computed that the 
hydraulic privileges at Rochester may be made worth ten millions of 
dollars per annum. Those who made these calculations more than a 
dozen years ago did not include more than one half the fall within the 
city limits — for the city includes double the amount of fall which was 
contained within the village limits. So that, even by the calculations 
heretofore made, the value of our water-power might be estimated at 
about double what was formerly stated. But the increased skill with 
which the water privileges are now being improved — the extent of the 
fall permitting the water to be used over and over again, in some cases 
three or four times on the same lot, if required — renders idle all calcula- 
tions of specific value. With falls and rapids causing a descent of 
about 260 feet within the city limits, the water-power of the Genesee at 
Rochester may, for all practical purposes, be deemed illimitable. 

The greatest flood ever known in the Genesee River occurred in the 
fall of 1835. Nothing equal to it has occurred within the knowledge of 
the earliest settlers in Rochester and its vicinity. Although it was un- 
precedented, it may find frequent parallels ; for, as the country becomes 
better cleared, the water (from the rain or thawing snow) will more sud- 
denly find its way to the river than could be the case from wild land, 
The influence exercised on the character of many streams by the im- 
provement of the country is a subject worthy of attention. 

The greatness of the flood of 1835 may be inferred from the fact 
i that the quantity of water which then passed was estimated at two mil- 
j lions one hundred and sixty-four thousand cubic feet per minute ! Ima- 
, gination may picture better than pen can describe the foaming and roar- 
; ing of such a mighty flood rushing over rapids and falls forming at Ro- 
chester a descent about 100 feet higher than the perpendicular pitch of 
Niagara. 

This estimate was made by Hervey Ely, after experiments in meas- 
urement made with his usual circumspection, the results of which were 
politely furnished to us at the time. Much damage was done by the 
flood along the Flats of the Genesee, from Mount Morris down to Ro- 
chester. A Le Roy print mentioned that the Genesee overflowed the 
whole Flats, and did much damage to hay and corn. The water cov- 
ered the road clear to Le Roy's mill, a distance of more than a mile on 
the way from Avon to Le Roy. The new bridge, at the Lower Falls in 
Rochester was swept away, and other bridges sustained damage. Much 
care was requisite to preserve the main bridge in the city. Buffalo- 
street was overflowed as far west as the Arcade, and goods were injured 
in cellars. " While we have been suffering for the want of rain in this 
section," says a New- York paper in publishing the accounts from the 
Genesee country, " the western part of the state has been deluged." 



352* SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 



Views on the Genesee River in the City of Rochester, commencing north- 
ward and approaching from Lake Ontario. 

View I. exhibits the appearance of the Port of Rochester at the Ontario Steamboat- 
Landing, at the north line of the city, about five miles from the lake. The largest 
vessels on the lakes can ascend the river to this point. There is a winding road from 
the wharves up the bank; and there are three railways for facilitating the business 
between the vessels and the warehouses on the upper banks, which are here about 
160 feet high. 

View II. represents the two steps of the Lower Falls, about half a mile south of 
the Steamboat-Landing. The first step is about 25 feet ; and at this point there is a 
dam for throwing the water into races on both sides of the river for supplying various 
mills and other manufacturing establishments. The second or last step is 84 feet. 
On the east bank of the river (left side of the engraving) is represented a fragment 
of the framework of the celebrated structure called " Carthage Hridge," an account 
of which, and of the fate of Catlin at these falls, is elsewhere given in this volume. 

View III. The Third Water-power. The dam which creates hydraulic privileges 
here is nearly equidistant between the Middle or Main Falls and the Lower Falls. 
The tract contains about 38 acres of alluvial soil, and a stone wall is built to prevent 
the encroachments of the river and to promote the arrangements for hydraulic power. 
As the engraving shows, this tract is like the tract whereon are built the mills, &c, 
at the Lower Falls, considerably below the level of the surrounding banks. But it 
is a pleasant spot, and must soon be much improved, from its proximity to the centre 
of business and the increasing demand for water-power in the centre of the city. 
The towers of churches and tops of other buildings will, by comparison with other 
engravings, readily indicate the position of this wnter-power. The buildings shown 
in the distance on the west bank are those more fully exhibited in the (first) view of 
the Main Falls. This Third Water-power was formerly owned by Elisha Johnson 
and L. Tousey, but has passed into the hands of a company, consisting of Dr. Alex- 
ander Kelsey, of Rochester, Col. James Lorimer Graham, of New- York, and others. 
In addition to the wall constructed to guard the banks against the river and to pro- 
mote hydraulic operations, a bridge is to be erected immediately by the company, and 
millraces opened, as shown by the dark lines on the tract. 

View IV. The Middle or Main Fall, 96 feet high ; viewed from the east side of the 
river, including a section of the city called the "Frankfort Tract" on the west bank, 
exhibiting many valuable mills, manufactories, &c. The Gothic tower seen in the 
distance is that of the Catholic church. From a small island in the river at the brink 
of these falls, Sam Patch demonstrated by his last leap that " some things can be 
done as well as others." 

View V. also represents the Middle or Maiti Fall, a second view, taken from a 
curve in the bank, whhh enables the spectator to look up the river as far as the 
bridge which connects Buffalo-street on the west and Main street on the east bank 
of the river. It will be noticed that the buildings erected on piers along the north 
side of the bridge are shown in the picture. The spires of several churches and the 
towers of the Arcade and Rochester House are likewise seen in the distance. The 
tower of St. Paul's appears above ihe outbuildings attached to the Genesee Falls 
Mills of O. E. and A. G. Gibbs— which mills are in the foreground, on the brink of 
the east side of the falls. The railroad bridge of the Rochester and Auburn com- 
pany will cross the Genesee within a few rods of the brink of these falls. 

View VI. represents the Great Aqueduct of the Erie Canal across the Genesee 
River in the City of Rochester. This is as the new aqueduct will appear, varying 
in some respects from the present edifice. The new work will be completed in about 
three years— during 1840. It will strike the east bank south of and adjoining the 
mills of Hervey lily ; the present aqueduct connects with the canal on the east bank 
north of those mills. The large building at the west end of the aqueduct (on the 
right of the picture) is part of the mammoth Mills of Thomas Kempshall. The jail, 
which is situate on an island in the river, is seen over the second arch from the west 
side. The high ground in the distance is that of which the corporation purchased 
about fifty acres for the purposes of a city cemetery, designed to be laid out like the 
celebrated cemetery of Mount Auburn near Boston, &c. The First Fall of the Gen- 
esee in Rochester, which might be better described as a rapid, is about 16 feel, and is 
a few rods south of the aqueduct, nearly abreast of the jail. 



GENESEE RIVER NAVIGATION. *3« p 



TRANSPORTATION ON RIVER, LAKE, CANAL, &c. 

Genesee River Navigation. 

The Genesee River is navigable for steamboats and other lake vessels 
from the north line of the city to Lake Ontario, a distance of five miles. 
From near the south line of the city the river is navigable by smaller 
vessels for about forty miles, as far as Fitzhugh's warehouse on the 
Canaseraga Creek, between Mount Morris and the residence of Colonel 
Fitzhugh, in Groveland, near Geneseo. (Colonel F. was an associate 
of Colonel Rochester and Mr. Carroll in buying and laying out the Hun- 
chester the river navigation is interrupted by a succession of falls and 
dred-acre Tract.) Between the north and south line of the City of Ro- 
rapids, making an aggregate descent in that short distance of 266 feet. 

A small steamboat ran for a couple of seasons between Rochester 
and the villages southward along the river, touching at Scottsville, Avon, 
York, and other points, for the purpose chiefly of towing the freight- 
boats loaded with the grain and other products accumulated at the thri- 
ving villages of the rich valley of the Genesee. The communication 
between the Erie Canal and the Genesee River is now being much im- 
proved by an arrangement partly connected with the Genesee Valley 
Canal. It will shortly be practicable for the Erie canal-boats to cross 
Genesee River without reference to the aqueduct, a matter of much 
consequence ; guarding as it will against any detention of navigation in 
case the old aqueduct fails before the new one is completed. The 
present feeder is being improved, and a corresponding cut is making 
on the west side of the river as far south as the feeder dam, say a mile 
and a half from the Erie Canal. The cut on the west side of the river 
serves as part of the Genesee Valley Canal ; and thus both canals and 
the river navigation south of Rochester are advantageously connected 
by means that secure the canal navigation from interruption in case of 
difficulty about the aqueduct ; a policy recommended strongly by the 
citizens in 1832-3 in a memorial remonstrating against the plans for 
rebuilding the aqueduct which were recommended in a special report 
from the canal commissioners. Although the Genesee Valley Canal 
will probably withdraw the business chiefly from the river for the extent 
to which the river is now used, the navigation of the latter is worthy of 
notice here. The river boats used for bringing wheat to Rochester 
are, we believe, owned by Mr. Kempshall, Mr. Ely, and other flour 
manufacturers. William Tone, residing a few miles south of the city, 
owns several boats, and has done much of the transportation. Scots- 
ville, York, Avon, Geneseo, Moscow, and Mount Morris, all have 
warehouses to accommodate this navigation ; and large quantities of 
wheat are thus brought down in boats alongside the Rochester mills. 

Lake Ontario Navigation. 

The first steamboat that touched at the port of Genesee or Roches- 
ter was the "Ontario," in 1817, on her passages between Sackett's 
Harbour and Niagara Falls. The Martha Ogden afterward touched 
on her routes up and down the lake. For a few years past, several of 
30* 



354* SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

the best steamboats on Lake Ontario have regularly touched at the City 
of Rochester, affording eligible and frequent opportunities for inter- 
course with the various towns on the British and American shores of 
Ontario. Travellers to or from Niagara Falls may now have their 
choice of conveyances ; by canal packets or lake steamboats, by stages 
on the Ridge-Road, or by railroad between Rochester and Batavia, con- 
necting by a short stage with Lockport, where a railroad running to the 
falls intersects others running to Lewiston and Buffalo. The steam- 
boat United States, Capt. Van Cleve, touches regularly at Rochester 
on her passages up and down the lake, offering facilities to travellers 
for Quebec, or Niagara Falls, &c. The steamboat Traveller, Capt. 
Sutherland, plies regularly between Rochester and the Canadian towns 
between Coburg and Hamilton at the head of the lake, including the 
capital, Toronto. The steamboat Oswego, and two or three others, 
have usually touched regularly on their passages up and down ; but, 
owing to the varying arrangements, we will only add that, for a few 
seasons past, steamboats have arrived and departed almost daily for dif- 
ferent points on the lake. 

A railroad from the Steamboat-Landing at the port of Rochester, at 
the northern line of the city, connects business and travelling with the 
Erie Canal and the Tonnewanta railroad in the southern part of the city. 

The first warehouse built at this point for the lake trade was erected 
by Levi Ward, Jr., Elisha B. Strong, Levi H. Clarke, and Heman Nor- 
ton ; the two latter now reside in New- York. It yet stands, with its 
inclined plane for the transit of goods between it and the vessels lying 
at the foot of the steep bank whereon it is located. Capt. John T. 
Trowbridge, now of Milwaukie, and John W. Trowbridge and Charles 
H. Greene, now of Oswego, were formerly in business here ; but the 
two principal warehouses are now owned by Hooker, Olmstead, and 
Griffiths, John Thompson being agent. 

In 1818 the exports from the Genesee River down the lake to Mon- 
treal market during the season of navigation were 26,000 bbls. of 
flour, 3653 bbls. pot and pearl ashes, 1173 bbls. pork, 190 bbls. whiskey, 
214,000 double-butt staves, together with small quantities of other 
articles, all valued at $380,000. 

In 1819 the exports in the same way amounted to 23,648 bbls. flour, 
8673 bbls. pot and pearl ashes, 1451 bbls. pork, 500,000 staves, 50 ; 000 
feet square timber, which, together with small quantities of other arti- 
cles, were valued at $400,000. 

In 1820 the exports from the Genesee River for the Canada market 
were 67,468 bbls. flour, 5310 bbls. pot and pearl ashes, 2643 bbls. 
beef and pork, 709 bbls. whiskey, 179,000 staves, together with small 
quantities of corn, oil, lard, ham, butter, cider, &c, valued at $375,000. 
The prices of produce had fallen greatly ; the general price of flour 
was $2 25 a $2 50 per bbl. ; of wheat 37 cents per bushel ; and corn 
from 20 to 25 cents. 

In 1321 the price of produce fell so low in Canada, and the canal, 
partly finished, having opened other and better markets, the quantity of 
produce sent from Genesee River to the Canada market became so 
much reduced, that farther statements are not made in the account from 
which is taken the notice of the above exports. 

The attention of the citizens, withdrawn to too great an extent for 
some years from the subject of lake navigation, is now turning strongly 



TRANSPORTATION BUSINESS. *355 

upon its importance ; and well it may, for with the growth of the coun- 
try along the shores of our inland seas this city must have its full share 
of benefits. Whatever improvements are made at the rapids of the 
St. Lawrence or around the Falls of Niagara cannot be indifferent to 
us — for our steamboats and schooners may thus have direct intercourse 
between Rochester and the shores of the upper lakes, or with the cities 
of the St. Lawrence, if not through that noble river to the Atlantic 
Ocean. 

In 1836 wheat to the amount of 200,000 bushels was imported from 
Canada, under heavy duties, by some of the Rochester dealers in that 
article. 

No one who reflects upon the subject can doubt that the lake trade 
will prove, ere long, far more beneficial to Rochester than the superfi- 
cial observer may now imagine. 

Canal Transportation Business. 

The statements already presented indicate the great value of the 
transportation business to the people of Rochester. 

On the 29th of October, 1822, the first canal-boat loaded with flour 
left Hill's Basin, on the east side of the Genesee in Rochester, for 
Little Falls on the Mohawk, the canal being then navigable no farther 
eastward, and the Rochester Aqueduct being unfinished. 

In the first ten days after the opening of navigation in the spring of 
1823, 10,000 bbls. of flour were shipped from Rochester for Albany 
and New- York. On the 7th of October in the same year the canal 
aqueduct across the Genesee River in Rochester was completed for 
navigation, the whole work upon it having occupied two years and a 
quarter; preparations having been made in August, 1821, by William 
Britton, assisted by 30 convicts from the Auburn State Prison, although 
the contractor (Alfred Hovey) did not commence the erection till the 
17th July, 1822. The opening of navigation through the aqueduct 
was celebrated by the passage of various boats, escorted by the mili- 
tary companies, masonic societies, and citizens generally. The first 
boatload of flour that crossed the aqueduct from the western side of 
Rochester was shipped from the warehouse of Daniel P. Parker, who 
received the first consignment of merchandise from the eastward that 
crossed the aqueduct, and who is now agent at New- York for the 
"American Transportation Company." 

The first cargo of wheat brought to Rochester from Ohio was in 
1831 — a consignment for Hervey Ely, brought by the old Hudson and 
Erie Line, an arrival worthy of notice as connected with the grain 
trade. 

Owners or Agents of the Transportation Lines at Rochester. 

Clinton Line — John Allen & Co. 

Pdot Line, Trader's Line, Erie K American ) „• w • , , . „ 

and Ohto Line, Eagle Line, \ Trans. Co. \ Hlram Wn S ht & Co ' 
United States Line, and Troy and Erie Line— W. D. Griffith & Co. 
Merchants' Line — Hector Hunter. 
Washington Line — L. Barker. 

New-York and Ohio Line, and National Line — Jas. Chappell & Co. 
New- York and Michigan Line — P. P. Peck & Co. 
Troy and Ohio Line — Rufus Meech. 



356* SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

Boston, Albany, and Canal Ljne — H. Wright. 
New-York and Buffalo Line — Campbell, Peters & Co. 
Commercial Line, Telegraph j Western ) Nonh and p ease . 

Line, Transportation Line ( 1 rans. Go. ^ r 

New-York and Detroit Line — Ezra Carpenter. 
Troy and Michigan Line — Tilley and Sidney Allen. 
Union Line — Hiram Nash & Co. 
Rochester Line — 



MANUFACTURES AND OTHER BUSINESS OF ROCHESTER 
Preliminary Notice. — Early Millers of the Genesee. 

The extent and excellence of the Rochester flour manufacture hav- 
ing already rendered our city widely celebrated, some curiosity may be 
felt to ascertain the origin and progress of a branch of business exerci- 
sing such an important influence on the wheat-growing interests of 
Western New-York and the adjoining regions, as well as on the market 
for breadstuffs throughout the country. 

The progress of improvement may be pretty accurately conjectured 
from the history of milling operations in and around Rochester. 

We have already stated sundry particulars of the gift from the In- 
dians to Phelps and Gorham of a tract twelve by twenty-four miles 
for a millyard ; that one hundred acres of that tract were bestowed by 
Phelps and Gorham upon " Indian Allen" on condition that a mill 
should be erected by him to accommodate the few settlers then moving 
into this region ; that the business of the country proving insufficient for 
its support, the mill became ruinous, and the title of the land passed 
from Allen, through the Pulteney estate, to those gentlemen who, in 
1812, surveyed the lot into a village plot, under the name of Rochester. 
In connexion with this recapitulation, we may say that, when the In- 
dians beheld the mill erected by Allen, and reflected on the quantity of 
land bestowed for a millyard, they expressed their surprise, but did not 
recall the gift. " Quo-ah !" was their long-drawn exclamation of as- 
tonishment at the diminutive size of the building that required for a 
" yard" the extensive tract secured from them by Mr. Phelps for the 
purpose ; and their other interjection, Kauskonchicos ! which is said to 
be the Seneca word for waterfall, became ever after the Indian name 
for Mr. Phelps.* 

The " White Woman," well known to the early settlers of the 
Genesee country, related many incidents connected with " Indian Al- 
len," throwing light on the condition of this region when that personage 
erected the first gristmill in these parts. We may in another page 
quote from her history some particulars concerning his operations, af- 
ter we shall have noticed the statement of an intelligent English trav- 
eller respecting the condition of the mill built by Allen, as it was oc- 
cupied by Col. Fish (Allen's successor) in 1800. After mentioning 

* " The kindness and good faith with which Mr. Phelps, like the celebrated Wm. 
Penn, always conducted his intercourse with the Indians, did not fail to secure their 
confidence and affection, in token of which they adopted both him and his son (Oliver 
L. Phelps) as honorary members of their national councils."— Peck's Rochester Di- 
rectory, 1827. 



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EARLY MILLERS OF THE GENESEE. *357 

that there was no barn or shelter wherein he could then stable his horse 
on the tract where Rochester now stands, Mr. Maude says, 

" The Main or Middle Falls are ninety-six feet in height. The Lower 
Falls are fifty-four feet,* being, in fact, two falls, forming a pair of steps. 
Col. Fish remembers these falls united in one pitch, which makes them 
differ essentially from the Middle Falls, for in one case the rock wears 
away at the top, and in the other at the bottom. t I have no memo- 
randum of the height of the Upper Fall at Fish's mill ; it is, however, the 
most inconsiderable. [This refers to the first fall or rapid near the site 
of the present canal aqueduct, Fish's or Allen's mill having occupied 
the site of the present red mill (built by Rochester and Montgomery) 
between the mills of Thomas Kempshall and the City Mills of Joseph. 
Strong.] Some day, perhaps, all the falls will be united in one, like 
that of Niagara. Rattlesnakes are frequently seen at these falls. I now 
ascended the bank at the Middle Falls, which bank is in some places 
perpendicular, and joined my servant, who had been waiting two hours, 
and had began to fear some accident had befallen me. In a few minutes 
I joined Col. Fish at the mill. This mill was built in 1789 by a Mr. 
Allen, called Indian Allen from his long residence among the aborigines 
of this country, who, on condition of building a mill, had a tract of one 
hundred acres adjoining given to him by Mr. Phelps, the mill to remain 
Allen's property. 

" The gristmill is very ill constructed ; it is erected too near the bed 
of the river, and the race is so improperly managed that it is dry in 
summer, and liable to back water in winter. It contains but one pair 
of stones, made from the stone of a neighbouring quarry, and which is 
found to be very suitable for this purpose. This mill is not at present 
able to grind more than ten bushels a day ; were it in good order, it 
would grind sixty. This was the first mill erected in the Genesee 
country. It was not only resorted to by the inhabitants of Bradloe, 
Caledonia, Genesee Landing, &c, but by those living as far distant as 
Canandarqua, nearly thirty miles eastward. It is now [1798 J almost 
entirely neglected, in consequence of being so much out of repair ; and 
the settlers on the west side of the river are obliged to resort to the mill 
at Rundicut, which from Bradloe is at least eighteen miles, besides 
having a river to cross. 

"The sawmill built by Allen is already mined [1798]. Indian 
Allen, soon after the erection of these mills, sold the property to Mr. 
Ogden, of Newark, New-Jersey, who resold it to Captain Williamson, 
the present possessor. Captain Williamson, perceiving the value of this 

* This error about the height of the Lower Falls can only be excused by the fact 
that even at a later day, and in a more important case, misapprehension was so 
prevalent that even Mr. Jesse Hawley, in his early calculations about the passage of 
the Erie Canal through this region, spoke of these falls not more accurately. The 
explanation is made injustice to Mr. Maude, who is yet living in England; for his 
Journal, published in London in 1826, bears evidence of a very careful as well as 
amiable spirit in its author. Should this page ever meet his view, he may, perhaps, 
with an account of the present condition of this region liefore him, pardon us for men- 
tioning the amusement which we derived from the annunciation that the journal of his 
tour through this then wilderness was published as a guide to travellers visiting the 
Falls of Niagara ! With the exception of the "eternal rush of waters," there is in- 
deed little in all this region which has not widely changed its aspect. 

t Col. Fish must have perpetrated a " fish story" upon the traveller. This alleged 
great and sudden change could not have taken place as reported.— See Geological 
Sketches — "Retrocession of the Falls," &«. 



358* SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

property, proposes to build a new and much larger mill a few feet higher 
than the present one. [Captain Williamson, as agent of the Pulteney 
estate, sold this mill-lot to Rochester, Carroll, and Fitzhugh, in 1802.] 
It will be then out of the way of ice and back water ; and, by taking the 
race from a more favourable part of the river, where, in the driest sea- 
sons, the channel has six feet water close along shore, it will have a 
neverfailing supply of water ; and as, in consequence of the falls, there 
must be a portage at this place, the race is to serve the purpose of a 
canal, not only to float logs to the sawmills, but for the river-craft to 
discharge and take in their lading. As Col. Fish, the miller, had not 
those accommodations which I expected, not even a stable, I was obliged 
to proceed to Mr. King's, at the Genesee Landing, where I got a good 
meal on wild-pigeons, &c. Mr. King is the only respectable settler in 
this township (No. 1. short range), in which there are at present twelve 
families, four of whom, have established themselves at the Landing" 
[now called Hanford's Landing]. 

So much for the " first impressions" of men and manners hereabout 
forty years ago, as described by the intelligent European above men- 
tioned. That traveller is probably yet living, as it is but recently that a 
copy of his "Journal" of a visit to Niagara, printed in London in 1826, 
from notes made about 1800, was presented by him to the Rochester 
Athenaeum. The present condition of the country which he described, 
doubtless with much fidelity, would now present to him an aspect altered 
as it were by enchantment. 

The " Allen mill" having become ruinous, an effort was made by 
Charles Harford in 1807 to remedy the inconvenience experienced 
through a considerable section of country for want of milling facilities. 
A small mill was then erected on the site of what have since been 
known as the Phenix mills (formerly owned by Francis and Mathew 
Brown, Jr., now occupied by Joseph Field). The contrast between 
Harford's gristmill and the excellent flouring establishments for which 
Rochester is now celebrated will probably excuse a brief descrip- 
tion of its peculiarities by one of the " early settlers." Among the 
notes for which I am indebted to Mr. Edwin Scrantom, it is stated that 
" the main wheel was a tubwheel ; in the top was inserted a piece of 
iron called the spindle, and the stone that run rested upon it, so that, in 
raising and lowering the stone to grind coarse or fine, the whole wheel 
(which was a monster), with the stone upon it, had to be raised with 
the bottom timbers. This was done with a monstrous lever which run 
the whole length of* the mill, tapering to near the end, which was man- 
aged by a leathern strap put twice around and fastened to the timbers 
at one end, while at the other end hung a huge stone. The bolt was 
carried from a screw made on the shaft under the stone, into which a 
wooden cogged- wheel was geared, in manner similar to an old pair of 
swifts. The ground meal, as it ran from the stone, fell upon a horizon- 
tal strap about six inches wide, and ran over a wheel at the far end of 
the bolt. This strap ran in a box on the upper side, and, as it went 
over the wheel, the meal was emptied into a spout and carried into the 
bolt. In grinding corn this spout was removed, and the meal fell into a 
box made for the purpose. The bolt, however, had to go constantly, as 
the science of millmaking here had not reached that very important 
improvement of throwing out of gear such machinery as is not wanted 
running. But that was to me then a charming mill ! It rumbled and 



EARLY MILLERS OF THE GENESEE. *359 

rattled like thunder, and afforded much amusement to the boys, who, like 
myself, formerly assisted in the ponderous operation of ' hoisting the gate.' 
The gate hoisted with a lever similar to the one that raised the stone ; 
a bag of heavy weights was hung to it, and then it was a half hour's 
job for a man to hoist it alone ! When once hoisted, it was not shut 
again till night, the stones being let together to slop the mill between 
grists !" The primitive simplicity of this mill was in accordance with 
the rude improvements of the time. 

Now for a few words concerning that " Indian Allen" whose name 
has been used occasionally in these sketches of the " olden time." His 
proper name was Ebenezer Allen ; and he was one of those tory blood- 
hounds who leagued with the savages in perpetrating atrocities upon 
his countrymen during the revolutionary war. A single instance is suf- 
ficiently illustrative of his sanguinary career. While prowling with his 
Indian allies in the Susquehanna Valley, he surprised the inmates of a 
dwelling by bursting suddenly upon them in their beds. The father, 
springing up to defend his family, was killed by one blow of Allen's 
tomahawk. The head of the murdered man was thrown at his feeble 
wife, from whose arms the infant was torn and dashed to death before 
her eyes ! " It has been said, though I will not relate it for a certain- 
ty," said the White Woman, " that, after perpetrating these murders, he 
opened the fire and buried the quivering corpse of the infant beneath 
the embers ! And I have often heard him speak of the transac- 
tions with that family as the foulest crimes he ever committed." 
Allen came to the Genesee country in the latter part of the revolu- 
tionary war ; and his operations betokened that his character combined 
the lasciviousness of a Turk with the bloodthirstiness of a savage. 
The White Woman furnished his biography in a chapter,* the cap- 
tion of which is alone sufficient to supply a tolerably correct outline 
of his movements along the Genesee. We quote that caption, merely 
adding some explanatory words : — " Life of Ebenezer Allen, a tory — he 
comes to Gardow, where the White Woman lived among the Senecas 
with her husband the chief Hiokatoo, about forty miles south of Ro- 
chester — his intimacy with a Nanticoke squaw — her husband's jealousy 
and cruelty towards her — Hiokatoo's interference — Allen supports the 
Nanticoke — purchases goods at Philadelphia, and brings them up the 
Susquehanna and Tioga, and thence to the Genesee River — stops the 
Indian war, or rather prevents the Indians from renewing hostilities soon 
after the revolution, by clandestinely taking one of their wampum belts 

* The work here referred to was prepared in 1823 by James E. Seaver, of Genesee 
county, under the direction of Daniel W. Bannister and other gentlemen who were 
anxious 10 collect and preserve many historical facts which were vividly impressed 
on her memory, before the pressure of years and sorrow (and an eventful life was 
hers !) should have impaired the accuracy of her recollection. The book is entitled, 
" A Narrative of the Life of Mary Jemison, who was taken by the Indians in the year 
1755, when only about twelve years of age, and has continued to reside among them 
to the present time— containing an account of the murder of her father and his family 
— her troubles with her sons, who were killed in feuds among themselves or with 
others- barbarities of the Indians in the French and revolutionary war— the life of 
Hiokatoo, her last husband— his exploits against the Cherokees, Catawbas, and other 
southern Indians — and many historical facts never before published. Carefully taken 
from her own words, November 29, 1823," «fcc. The book was published in 1824 by 
James D. Bemis, of Canandaigua — one of the earliest printers and booksellers in the 
Genesee country, and who for many years published the Ontario Repository. Peter 
Jemison, the young Indian who lately died in the U. S. Navy (an assistant surgeon), 
was a grandson of Mrs. J., commonly known as the " White Woman." 



360* SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

to an American officer, and assuring him that the Indians were friendly 
— his troubles with the Indians, who, though they observed the good 
faith implied by their wampum, persecuted him for a while for taking such 
a liberty — he is taken and carried to Quebec by the British, who held Fort 
Niagara till 1795 — is acquitted of the alleged offence in the wampum 
affair, in which the British at Niagara evinced a privity to the designs 
of the Indians by capturing and attempting to punish him for his inter- 
ference — he marries a squaw — goes to Philadelphia — returns to Genesee 
with a store of goods, which he bartered with the Indians for ginseng 
and furs — goes to farming — moves down to the stream called Allen's 
Creek, after him, on which Scotsville is now situated, near its junction 
with Genesee River — builds mills at the falls where Rochester now is 
— drowns a Dutchman while going down in a canoe with mill-irons — 
marries a white wife — kills an old man, and takes his young wife for a 
concubine — moves back to Mount Morris — marries a third wife, and 
gets another concubine — receives a tract of land from the Indians for 
the benefit of his children — sends his children to other states for educa- 
tion — disposes of the land at Mount Morris — moves to Grand River, in 
Canada, where the British gave him a tract of land — an account of his 
cruelties," &c. " At the great treaty at Big-tree," near Geneseo, in 
1797, says the same authority, " one of Allen's daughters claimed the 
land which he had sold to Robert Morris," as it was designed by the 
Indians for their benefit. " The claim was examined and decided 
against her, in favor of Ogden, Trumbull, and Rogers, who were 
the creditors of Robert Morris. Allen died at the Delaware town 
on the river De Trench, in 1814," adds the aged chronicler, "and 
left two white widows and one squaw, with a number of children, to la- 
ment his loss." He had left some of his women behind when he re- 
moved from Genesee River to Canada. Such were the life and times 
of the first miller of THE Genesee — such the personage who, by 
building a small and temporary mill to grind the grists of the then few 
settlers in this region, acquired title to the Hundred-acre Tract or 
Mill Lot, which, more than twenty years afterward, was planned for a 
village under the name of Rochester. 

Flour Trade of Rochester. 

" Some of the Rochester mills," says the Traveller's Guide, published 
by Davidson of Saratoga, " are on a scale of magnitude unsurpassed in the 
world ; all are considered first rate in the perfection of their machinery ; 
and so effective is the whole flouring apparatus, that there are several 
single runs of stone which can grind (and the machinery connected 
therewith bolt and pack) one hundred barrels of flour per day." Although 
such feats may be done by extra exertion, we care less for the reputa- 
tion resulting from them than we do for the quality and aggregate quan- 
tity of the flour passing through our mills. Such is the character and 
extensive demand for the article, that, besides the quantity shipped for 
foreign countries, the Rochester brands may be seen commonly at Que- 
bec and Washington ; at Montreal and New- York ; at Hartford, Con- 
cord, and Bangor ; at Boston, Charleston, and New-Orleans ; from 
Passamaquoddy to the Gulf of Mexico. 

There are now within the City of Rochester twenty mills (exclusive 
of gristmills), with upward of ninety runs of stone. These mills arc 




v.-.-.. , tfi&iiii:'"^' 



FLOUR TRADE. *361 

capable of manufacturing five thousand barrels of flour daily, and, when 
in full operation, require about twenty thousand bushels of wheat daily. 
The immense consumption of the raw material occasioned by such an 
extensive manufacture furnishes to the rich wheat-growing region around 
Rochester a ready market, while it draws considerable supplies from 
the shores of Erie and Ontario. Besides the wheat drawn from the 
surrounding country and from Ohio, some of the Rochester millers im- 
ported from Canada, under heavy duties, about 200,000 bushels in 1836. 
In the year ending on the 1st of August, 1835, eighteen mills with sev- 
enty-eight runs manufactured about 460,000 bbls. flour ; and the annual 
product, with the late improvements, will not, probably, in seasons of fer- 
tility, &c, fall far short of six hundred thousand barrels. The avidity 
with which mill property has been sought, and the additions made to it 
during the last three years, indicate clearly the strong confidence of our 
citizens in its permanent worth. 

The attention excited abroad to the grain and flour trade of Roches- 
ter has occasioned on our part particular inquiry into its origin and prog- 
ress. We hope to be pardoned for the liberty we take in acknowledging 
indebtedness to one of our oldest residents and most enterprising mer- 
chant-millers for the facts imbodied in the following notes on the his- 
tory of our staple manufacture. Hervey Ely is the gentleman alluded 
to. The value attached to the history of the grain trade of the Baltic, 
&c, indicates that there are many others than political economists who 
may be interested to mark the progress of the grain and flour trade in 
the heart of the wheat-growing region of Western New- York. 

Notes on the Rochester Flour Trade. 

Some of the flouring establishments are situate directly upon the nav- 
igable waters of the Erie Canal, with machinery so adjusted that car- 
goes of a thousand bushels of wheat are elevated to a height of fifty 
feet and weighed in an hour and a half. The boats, without changing 
-position, in a similar brief period receive cargoes of flour ; and thus, at 
some mills, but three hours are consumed in unloading a cargo of wheat 
and stowing away a cargo of flour. This, with the facts before stated 
respecting the manufacture of the article, may convey some idea of the 
admirable machinery of the Rochester flouring establishments. 

It is worthy of remark, that ten of the largest and most perfect of these 
flouring-mills, which may safely challenge comparison with any simi- 
lar establishments on earth for power, strength, and effective operation, 
were erected under the direction of Robert M. Dalzell, of this city, 
who has exhibited unrivalled skill and untiring zeal in this department 
of mechanics. If the architect of palaces be worthy of notice in history, 
it cannot be improper, in an account of Rochester, to render justice to 
the scientific mechanic whose skill has largely contributed to the ce- 
lebrity of its staple manufacture. 

No flour was manufactured here till 1814, when a few hundred 
barrels were sent to the troops on the Niagara frontier, the mill-power 
then existing being applied to the grists for the supply of the neighbour- 
hood. The conclusion of the war with England in 1815 opened our 
trade with Canada, when a few hundred barrels of flour were manu- 
factured and sent from Rochester to Montreal and other ports on Lake 
Ontario and the St. Lawrence. 

31 



362* SKETCHES OP ROCHESTER, ETC. 

In 1816, between seven and eight thousand barrels of flour were sent 
from Rochester to the same markets. Since that time the manufacture 
of the article in Rochester has increased, with some slight fluctuations, 
in a geometrical ratio, till we now find the city exporting chiefly by the 
Erie Canal about four or five hundred thousand barrels of flour, besides 
the supply manufactured for the city and vicinity. 

Annexed is a table showing the annual average value of wheat, 
together with the extreme ranges of prices since 1814, when Rochester 
was first known as a market for that commodity. 



1814 - 


- Average, 


$1 25 - 


- Range, 


$1 


18| to 1 31 


1815 


- 


- 




1 121 


- 


1 


06 " 1 18| 


1816 - 


- 




- 


1 75 - 


- 


1 


12£" 2 50 


1817 


- 


- 




1 53 


- 




87£ " 2 25 


1818 - 


- 




- 


1 03 - 


. 


1 


" 1 06 


1819 


- 


- 




92 


. 




56 « 1 31 


1820 - 


- 




- 


52 - 


- 


- 


44 « 62i 


1821 


- 


- 




- 40 


- 




33 " 50 


1822 - 


- 




- 


62i - 


- 


- 


56 " 75 


1823 


- 


. 




- 96 


- 




75 " 1 31 


1824 - 


. 




- 


92 - 


- 


- 


75 " 1 09 


1825 


- 


- 




- 73 


. 




50 " 92 


1826 - 


- 




- 


59 - 


- 


- 


44 " 71 


1827 


- 


- 




- 71 


. 




62£ " 85 


1828 - 


. 




- 


93 - 


- 


- 


72 " 1 44 


1829 


- 


- 




1 02 


- 




75 « 1 44 


1830 - 


. 




. 


84 - 


. 


. 


69 " 1 


1831 


- 


. 




1 01 


- 




78 " 1 19 


1832 - 


- 




- 


99 - 


. 


. 


84 " 1 12i 


1833 


- 


- 




- 92 


- 




75 " 1 06 


1834 - 


- 




- 


80 - 


- 


- 


75 " 87i 


1835 


- 


- 




1 07 


- 




75 " 1 37* 


1836 - 


. 




- 


1 48 - 


- 


1 


181 " 2 00 


1837 


- 


- 




- 


- 


1 


38 " 2 15 



It will be seen from the foregoing table that the great staple of our 
state, an article of prime necessity, has been subject to extreme fluctu- 
ations in value ; so much so as to baffle the calculations of the most 
experienced and sagacious. We see the value of a bushel of wheat 
some years rated at six or eight times the value in other years. It may 
therefore be interesting to examine some of the causes which probably 
produced these extraordinary fluctuations. 

Very little wheat or flour was sent out of the Genesee country till after 
the year 1815. The crop that year was short in this quarter and in 
Canada ; but it did not affect prices till the following spring and sum- 
mer, when flour was sold in Rochester for four weeks at fifteen dollars 
per barrel ! Indian corn was then shipped freely from Rochester to the 
Canadian shore of Ontario, and commanded ready sale at York (now 
Toronto) for three dollars per bushel ! 

The "cold summer' of 1816 was not injurious to our crop; but a 
demand for the English market affected prices materially during the 
latter part of that year, and also in the years 1817, 1818, 1828, 1829, 
and 1831. The crop in 1828 in the Genesee country was an almost 
entire failure ; but being nearly or quite an average in other portions of 



FLOUR TRADE. *363 

the country, Rochester prices would not have advanced near the close 
of that year but for a demand from England. 

It is well known that, in particular districts of our country, there has 
been a rapid increase of cultivation of breadstuffs. But it is also known 
that, in other and very extensive portions of our country, agricultural 
enterprise has been turned to employments yielding better profits than 
grain-growing in those regions. Witness the extent to which the great 
southern staple has lately been cultivated, to the exclusion in a great 
degree of wheat and other grains. This, with the rapid increase of 
population, &c, were the leading causes of the high prices of 1835. 
[Might not the prevalence of a speculating mania, the withdrawal of 
considerable labour from productive employment, and the expansion of 
bank issues, be particularly included among the causes which contribu- 
ted to the inflation of prices'?] 

The foregoing causes, combined with the entire failure of the crop in 
1836 east of the mountains, in North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, 
Delaware, and Pennsylvania, and the partial failure in the State of New- 
York, fully explain the causes of the existence of high prices in that 
year and in 1837. 

In 1823 canal navigation was opened without interruption from Albany 
to Rochester. The want of this commercial avenue was one reason of 
the extreme depression of prices in 1820 and 1821 ; but the effect was 
chiefly attributable to the largely-increased cultivation of wheat, in con- 
sequence of the stimulus of high prices during the four preceding years, 
together with the luxuriant crops of those two years (1820 and 1821). 

The crops of 1825 and 1826 were probably the most abundant for 
the land in seed which have been known since the settlement of the 
country. 

It is a fact worthy of note, in relation to the wheat crop, that, in sea- 
sons of abundance, its quality is uniformly superior to that of other 
years. 

It is often said, and by wise men, that the fluctuations in the value 
of breadstuffs are mainly attributable to expansions and contractions of 
the currency. The changes in currency have, of course, considerable 
influence ; but the preceding statements indicate the presence of far 
more powerful causes — causes which cannot entirely be controlled by 
ordinary human invention. 

Although it might be expected that legislation respecting the prices 
of articles of absolute necessity like grain would have the effect of pre- 
venting extravagant fluctuations in the marketable value of such articles, 
such is not a consequence of the British Corn Laws. Immense fluctu- 
ations in the prices of grain in Great Britain have had considerable in- 
fluence in other countries from which that empire usually seeks supplies. 

With the exception of the years 1835 and 1836, it appears that the 
high prices in our country for the last twenty years have been owing 
chiefly to the demands of the British market. And the fact deserves 
notice, that the greater portion of the shipments from this to that coun- 
try in the above-mentioned period have proved disastrous, owing to the 
pernicious operation of the Corn Laws. 

From the perishable nature of wheat, when collected in large masses, 
it is unwise for capitalists to take it in seasons of abundant crops and 
consequent low prices, with the view of holding it till a deficient crop 
or an unusual foreign demand advances the prices. One remedy sug- 



364* SKETCHES OP ROCHESTER, ETC. 

gests itself, as simple in itself, a/id worthy of adoption in some extent, 
to prevent a recurrence of the extreme depressions experienced in 1820, 
1821, and 1826. As our farmers have now become a wealthy class, 
and are not forced by necessity to sell at a sacrifice, it is believed that 
they may be induced to adopt the plan, which is this : to retain in their 
own hands a portion of each abundant crop till a short crop here or 
elsewhere causes an advance of price, and enables them to sell at a 
remunerating rate. This course would enable them at all times to ob- 
tain fair prices for their crops, and would diminish the hazard, so that 
the purchasing and manufacturing of wheat could be done at a small 
profit. 

From official data, it is found that the exports of flour and wheat from 
the United States to foreign countries, in seasons of ordinary produc- 
tiveness, do not essentially vary from what they were forty years ago. 
Taking periods of five years, the annual average shows an increase of 
but 150,000 bbls. per annum. This fact leads to an inquiry concern- 
ing the disposition made of the vast increase of breadstuffs from the 
wheat-growing states. The progress of domestic manufactures will 
furnish a ready solution. New-England consumes the greater portion 
of the surplus products of the grain-growing regions, and pays for 
them chiefly through the profits derived from the sale of her commod- 
ities in the cotton-growing states.* Thus interlocked are the various 
interests of the different sections of the Union. 

It may be added, in conclusion, that comparisons instituted in foreign 
markets render it certain that nowhere in Europe, save perhaps in 
a small district of Poland, can the quality of the wheat produced be 
placed in competition with the staple product of Western New- York. 
And it is an essential feature of our wheat-growing district, that, unlike 
some regions which formerly yielded such grain finely and freely, it is 
rendered inexhaustible in fertility by the calcareous substratum. " The 
alluvion of the fetid limestone which forms its base is peculiarly adapted 
to the continued production of superior wheat," as has been remarked 
by a well-known personage. " Perhaps, also, the moistness of the 
climate, from its vicinity to the great lakes, contributes to this effect. 
It is said that a chymical analysis of Genesee wheat shows it to con- 
tain more saccharine matter than that of the southern states, while the 
latter combines with a larger portion of water in the composition of 
bread. This may serve to explain why southern flour is more agreeable 

* A paragraph illustrative of this point has just met our view in an Albany paper : 
"Only two or three years ago, a very considerable bet was made that New-England 
did not import from the other states breadstuffs equal to a million of barrels. We 
observe by the official statement that the import into Boston alone in 1837 was, 

Of Flour, 423,246 bbls. 

Bushels. 

Corn, 1,725,173 

Rye, 86,991 

1,812 164 
Estimated at five bushels to the barrel, would be 362,433 

785,679 
" The supplies sent to Boston are not probably greater than those sent tt Connec- 
ticut, Rhode Island, Cape Cod, Nantucket, New-Hampshire, and Maine. The export 
to New-England of breadstuffs in 1837 was probably equal to a million and a half 
of barrels, which, if valued at the low price of six dollars a barrel, would amount 
to nine millions of dollars." 



FLOUR TRADE. *365 

to the baker, but Genesee to the eater, when they come into competi- 
tion in our cities." 

As a matter of consequence in the history of the flour manufacture, 
it may be mentioned that the flour and wheat destroyed by the mob at 
New- York on the 13th February, 1837, belonged chiefly to Rochester 
millers. The commodities were stored for sale under the agency of 
Messrs. Hart and Herrick. In consequence of the outrages from 
which they had suffered loss, the millers presented to the Legislature a 
memorial praying for protection against further calamities. 

" A portion of the stock of flour now in New- York." said the memorial, " is the 
property of your memorialists ; and from the character of our business and the posi- 
tion of that city, we necessarily have almost constantly large stocks of flour in the 
warehouses there ; it being made the depot from whence supplies are purchased and 
forwarded to the different ports of our own and foreign countries. We therefore 
pray your honourable body that a law may be passed, making the City of New- York, 
in its corporate capacity, responsible to the owners of property living out of the 
city, and in the hands of commission merchants there, for any and all losses which 
may arise from mobs within its corporate limits. Or, if in your wisdom its provis- 
ions be extended to the destruction of all property, and a like provision be extended 
to all cities, villages, and towns in the state, it will meet our cordial approval. 

" The disasters arising from the elements," continued the memoralists, " we can 
guard against by ensurance ; but who takes risks against the blind passions of an 
infuriated mob 1 We are free to declare, that, had such a law as we now ask for 
been in existence for the last three years, that city would have been spared the deep 
and lasting disgrace of its riotous tumults. The consideration that they themselves 
were to pay for the destruction would have nerved those arms for defence which, to 
their disgrace, have lain palsied while riot after riot has spread desolation through 
their streets." 

The concluding portion of the memorial rebutted the allegation 
which formed the pretext for the destruction Of the flour at New-York. 
The importance of the subject will justify the insertion here of that 
portion of the document : — 

"It has been gravely said by newspaper editors, who might have known better," 
said the memorial, " that the present high price of flour is the result of combinations 
to monopolize the article. This charge we declare to be without any foundation in 
truth. 

" The unexampled destruction of the wheat crop in the important wheat districts 
of our country is the leading and primary cause. We are not speculators in flour, 
but its manufacturers. It is true, had we consented to the sale of our flour in the 
autumn at serious losses, we should not at this moment have property there at haz- 
ard; but, to avoid these losses, we have been compelled to raise large sums of money 
at most exorbitant rates — even present prices are paying us short of a reasonable 
and moderate profit on the manufacture of the article. 

" As the manufacturers of the leading agricultural staple of our state, we appeal 
to your honourable body with entire confidence in your wisdom, and disposition to 
grant us, and, through us, to the great agricultural interests of the state, protection 
for our property from destruction by mobs. 

"Hervey Ely, Mack & Paterson, W. Whitney & Co., 

" Jas. K. Livingston, Paterson & Avery, Thomas Fmerson, 

11 Meech, Rice, <fc Co., Woodbury & Scrantom, Joseph Strong, 

" Chappell, Carpenter, <fe Co., O. E. & G. A. Gibhs, H. B. Williams & Co., 
* Rich. Richardson, Charles J. Hill, E. S. Beach, 

"Thomas Kempshall, Hooker & Co., E, H. S. Mumfrrd. 

" Rochester, February 21, 1837." 

31* 



366* SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

As the history of Rochester' and Western New-York must ever be 
intimately associated with that of the grain and flour trade, and as 
some statements have been presented respecting the prices since the 
origin of the flour manufacture in this region, it may not be deemed 
irrelevant to present now a statement of the flour market on the sea- 
board for the last forty years. These tables will be useful for compar- 
ison ; and the remarks by which the latter is accompanied will show 
that it has direct reference to the pretexts assigned for the destruction 
at New- York of the property of the Rochester Flour Manufacturers. 

From the Philadelphia Pennsylvanian.— 1837 '. 
" Prick of Flour — Comparative Table. — We subjoin a highly interesting 
table, giving a comparative view of the price of flour in this city for the first three 
months in the year from 1796 to the present time. For this document our acknowl- 
edgments are due to the kindness of a mercantile friend, by whom it was carefully 
and accurately prepared from authentic data. It possesses peculiar interest at the 
present moment, showing, as it does, the great and rapid fluctuations of the market, 
and stating the fact that, at periods when labour did not obtain more than half the 
price it now commands, flour has sold at much higher prices than those which are 
now complained of. In 1796, for instance, it sold as high as fifteen dollars a barrel. 

Prices of Flour for the.Jirst three months of the year from 1796 to 1837 inclusive. 

Years. January. February. March. 

1796 $12 00 13 50 15 00 

1797 10 00 10 00 10 00 

1798 8 20 8 50 8 50 

- 1799 9 50 9 50 9 25 

1801 1 U 50 H 25 H 50 

1802 7 00 7 00 7 00 

1803 6 50 6 50 6 50 

1804 7 50 7 50 7 00 

1805 1100 12 25 13 00 

' 1806 7 50 7 50 7 00 

1807 8 50 7 50 7 50 

1808 (Embargo) 6 00 5 75 5 50 

1809 do 5 50 7 00 7 00 

(. In July and August ) 

1810< this year $11 and > 7 75 8 00 8 25 
t $12. S 

1811 18 00 10 50 10 50 

1812(War) 10 50 10 12| 9 75 

1813 do 1100 10 00 9 50 

1814 do 9 25 8 25 8 00 

1815 do 8 00 8 00 7 75 

1816 9 00 9 00 8 00 

1817 13 50 13 75 14 25 

' 1818 10 00 10 75 10 50 

1819 9 00 8 75 10 50 

1820 6 00 5 50 5 00 

1821 4 00 4 00 3 75 

1822 6 25 6 25 6 25 

1823 7 00 6 75 7 00 

1824 6 00 6 00 6 12 

1825 4 87 5 12 5 12 

1826 4 75 4 62 4 50 

1827 5 75 6 00 5 75 

1328 5 00 4 87 4 75' 

1829 8 50 8 25 8 00 

1830 4 62 4 50 4 50 

1831 6 12 6 25 7 00 

1832 5 50 5 50 5 50 

1833 5 75 5 00 5 50 

1834 5 25 5 00 5 87 

1835 4 87 5 00 5 00 

1836 6 50 6 62 6 75 

1837 11 00 11 00 



FLOUR TRADE. *367 

"While on this subject it may not be irrelevant to speak of the errors entertained 
by many as to the flour trade and the price which the article now commands. The 
advanced rates are supposed by some — as frightfully shown by the late occurrences 
in New- York— not to spring from natural causes, but to be the result of speculation and 
combination. This is a serious mistake. The failure of the crop has been great 
and general.* So complete, indeed, have been the disasters to agricultural industry, 
that foreign wheat is sent in quantities from the Atlantic cities many miles to the 
west, to supply the wants of the farmers themselves ; and the price of wheat, there- 
fore, is such that, notwithstanding the importations, the miller, even selling at eleven 
dollars, is barely able to secure a living profit. The flour in the cities is held, not by 
speculators, but by the agents of the millers living in the interior, that being the 
position occupied by those called flour merchants. The property in each of their 
storehouses, so far from belonging to them, is owned probably by twenty, thirty, or 
forty different individuals in various parts of the country. From this, it is evident 
that the attack on the stores of Eli Hart and Herrick, in New- York, was in every 
respect as foolish as it was wicked. They did not suffer. The injury arising from 
the destruction of the flour fell upon the millers in the country— the real owners ; 
and that prices should immediately have advanced in New- York, or that they should 
continue to advance there, is not to be wondered at. The miller, not disposed to 
place his property at the mercy of a mob, will naturally seek another market, or 
demand an increase of price for increased risks. Such are the beneficial effects of 
mobism." 

Memoranda. — About the year 1760, the flour exported from the 
Colony of New- York did not exceed 80,000 barrels per annum. 

After mentioning that flour was the main article of export from 
New- York about that time for the West Indies, Smith's History says, 
P To preserve the credit of this important branch of our staples, we 
have a good law appointing officers to inspect and brand every cask be- 
fore its exportation." 

"The wheat, corn, flour, and lumber shipped to Lisbon and Ma- 
deira," it is stated in reference to the same period, " balance the Ma- 
deira wine imported here (at New- York)." 

After the revolution, particular pains were taken to raise the charac- 
ter of the flour of the State of New- York. The Legislature, in 1785, 
passed a law requiring rigid inspection of flour ; the preamble stating 
that " it is necessary that great care be taken to preserve the reputation 
of our flour, one of the staple commodities of this state." The maker 
was required to brand on his name and the weight of flour. 

The wheat and flour of Western New- York were, when first sent to 
the markets on the seaboard, acknowledged promptly to be of superior 

* The extent to which this failure affected the quantity sent to the seaboard through 
the Erie Canal was thus stated by the Albany Argus : — 

" The Wheat Crops of 1835 and 1836. — Assuming that the wheat crop is brought 
to mnrket between the 1st of September and the 31st of August, and the following 
results are furnished by a comparison of the wheat crop of 1835 and 1836, so far 
as the comparison can be made, from the quantity coming from the Hudson River on 
the Erie Canal in each of the years referred to, viz. :— 

" Statement of the wheat and flour left at Albany and West Troy. 

Bush. Brls. 

From 1st Sept., 1835, to 31st Aug., 1836 691,906 972,282 

From 1st Sept., 1836, to 31st Aug., 1837 430,857 687,658 

Showing a decrease of 231,049 284,620 

" Estimating five bushels of wheat to a barrel of flour, and the following results 
are presented, viz. : — 
Flour coming to market on the canal from the crop of 1835, — 1,105,233 barrels. 
Flour coming to market on the canal from the crop of 1836,. .. . 773,829 do. 

Decrease, 331,404 do. 

" This shows a decrease of the crop of 1836, compared with that of 1835, equal to 
1,655,000 bushels of wheat." 



368* SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

quality. " The wheat of this part of the country bears the highest 
price in the New- York market," says a traveller in 1800, " selling for 
fourpence, eightpence, and a shilling per bushel more than the North 
River wheat, which is reckoned the next best." 

" Mr. Bartles's flour," from the mills on Mud Creek, between Bath and 
Geneva, in 1800, " was esteemed the best ever inspected in Baltimore," 
to which city it was floated in arks through the Conhocton, Tioga, 
Susquehanna, and Chesapeake. 

Rochester Mills. 

Although we have elsewhere referred to the fact, we may repeat in 
this connexion, preparatory to a regular account of the Rochester 
Mills, that, in the year 1790, a mill with one pair of stones and a saw- 
mill were erected in what is now the city of Rochester, by Ebenezer 
Allen, better known as " Indian Allen," to whom the " Hundred-acre 
Tract" was given by Oliver Phelps on condition that he should erect 
such mills for the accommodation of the settlers in the surrounding 
country. [The " Hundred-acre Tract" formed the nucleus of the City 
of Rochester. Having passed through several hands into the posses- 
sion of Nathaniel Rochester, William Fiizhugh, and Charles Carroll in 
1802, it was surveyed into a village plat in 1812 under the name of the 
senior proprietor, which it now bears.] Allen abandoned these mills in 
a few years, the business of the country being insufficient to keep them 
in repair. The site was on the west bank of the river, at the first fall, 
a few rods north of the Canal Aqueduct ; and nearly upon it now stands 
the red mill built by Rochester and Montgomery. 

In 1807, a mill with one pair of stones was erected by Charles Har- 
ford at the second or Main Falls. In 1812 it was purchased by Francis 
Brown and Company, who enlarged it to three pairs of stones, and im- 
proved it for the manufacture of flour. It was destroyed by fire in 
1818, when the Phoenix Mills, with four pairs of stones, were erected on 
the ruins. The establishment is now used by Joseph Field, and owned 
by William and John James. Built of stone, 61 by 102 feet — 2 stories 
in front, and three in the rear, besides lofts and basement. See a view 
of part of these mills in the engraving of the mills of H. B. Williams 
and Company. 

In 1814, Elisha Ely, Josiah Bissell, and Hervey Ely erected mills, 
with four pairs of stones, for manufacturing flour, at the first falls. This 
building, after having been disused for milling for several years, was 
fitted up for various mechanics, and called the " Hydraulic Building." 
It was destroyed in the fire of the 4th October, 1837. 

In 1817, William Atkinson erected the mills at the first falls, with 
three pairs of stones, now owned by Meech, Rice, and Company. A 
partial view of these mills is given in the engraving of Emerson's Mills. 

In the same year, Elisha B. Strong, Heman Norton, and E. Beach, 
erected mills, with four pairs of stones, at the upper step of the Lower 
Falls. These mills, lately owned by Hooker, Olmstead, and Griffiths 
(Hooker and Company), are now owned by Ira A. Thurber and Com- 
pany (George A. Avery and Philip Thurber). The adjoining stone 
building, now occupied as a Veneering Mill by A. Whipple, is yet 
owned, with much of the water-power at these falls, by Hooker and 
Company. This stone building is about 30 by 40 feet, and about 100 
feet high from the edge of the river ; it is calculated for a flouring mill. 
The other building is of wood, with two basement stones of stone. 



ROCHESTER MILLS. *369 

In 1818, Palmer Cleveland erected the mills at the second or Middle 
Falls, on the east bank, afterward owned by Abelard Reynolds. These 
mills are now owned by Orrin E. and George A. Gibbs, by whom the 
building has been enlarged, and the runs of stones increased from three 
to five. Built of stone; 62 1-2 feet long and 52 wide; four stories 
high, besides attic — and having a wooden building appended, 1 1-2 stories 
high, and 66 by 38 feet. These mills stand near the brink at the eastern 
side of the main precipice over which the river dashes, as may be seen 
by reference to the " Second View" of the Main Falls included in this 
work. 

In 1821, Thomas H. Rochester and Harvey Montgomery erected the 
mills, with three pairs of stones, on the site of the mill built by " Indian 
Allen." They are now owned by Chappell, Carpenter, & Co., and 
lie between the mills of Joseph Strong and Thomas Kempshall. 

In the same year, Hervey Ely erected the mills, with four pairs of 
stones, at the first falls, now owned by Elbert W. Scrantom. These 
mills were burnt in 1831, and rebuilt of stone the same year. Front on 
Water-street, rear on the river. 

In 1826, Elias Shelmire erected a mill at the first falls, with two pairs 
of stones — enlarged by Benj. Campbell to four pairs of stones — burnt in 
1833 — rebuilt the same year. In 1836 these mills were taken down 
by order of the canal commissioners, to make room for the new aqueduct. 

In 1827, E. S. Beach, T. Kempshall, and Henry Kennedy erected 
mills, with ten pairs of stones, at the first falls. These mills are now 
owned by Thomas Kempshall. The stone part of these mills is 105 feet 
long and 76 wide, six stories high, besides grinding-fioor and attic ; 
wooden part 50 feet by 75, four stories high, with a wing projecting 
over the street and canal basin 65 by 40 feet, and four stories high. 
The part which projects over the basin is not seen in the engraving — 
and the aqueduct hides some of the lower part of the main building. 

Same year, Warham Whitney erected his mills at the second falls, 
with five pairs of stones. These mills are built of stone, and front on 
Brown's race, with rear on the river. The present firm is W. Whitney 
& Co. (John Williams). 

Same year, Silas O. Smith converted the old cotton factory on 
Brown's race, at the second or Middle Falls, into mills, with eight pairs 
of stones. Seventy feet front, 48 feet deep, three stories high — wood, 
with a brick front, partly shown in the view of Richardson's mills. 

Same year, F. Babcock erected mills, with four pairs of stones, at the 
upper step of the Lower Falls ; now owned by Charles J. Hill. Built 
of wood and stone ; basement of stone, two stories, and superstructure 
of wood, three stories, besides attic. 

In 1828, Hervey Ely erected his mills, with nine pairs of stones, at the 
first falls, adjoining the eastern end of the great canal aqueduct — the 
Erie Canal being on the north and east sides of the building, and the 
river in the rear. A bridge across the canal connects these mills with 
St. Paul's-street. The main stone building is 78 feet long and 50 wide, 
five stories high on the river, three stories on the canal, besides attic ; 
and the wooden building attached is 68 feet long, 40 feet wide, and four 
stories high. The old aqueduct connects with the east bank of the 
river on the north side of these mills — the new aqueduct will connect 
on the south side of them. 

In 1831, Erasmus D. Smith erected at the first falls the mills, with 



370* SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

five pairs of stones, now owned, by Joseph Strong. They are between 
the aqueduct and the main bridge — front on Child's Canal-basin and rear 
on the river. These mills are 107 feet long, of which 37 feet is wood, 
and 50 feet wide, four stories high, beside attic and basement grinding- 
floor. 

Same year, H. P. Smith erected the mills at the second falls with 
three pairs of stones, lately owned by Paterson and Avery, and now 
owned by Elias and Edwin Avery. They are 35 feet front, 60 feet 
wide, and the rear wall is 144 feet high. They front on Brown's race, 
with rear on the river. 

In 1835, James K. Livingston erected the mills, with four pairs of 
stones, now owned by Richard Richardson, at the second falls — fronting 
on Brown's race, with rear on the river. Stone building, 47 feet front, 
85 feet deep, four stories high, beside attic and basement. 

Same year, Thomas Emerson and Jacob Graves erected at the first 
falls the mills, with six pairs of stones, now owned by Thomas Emerson. 
Built of stone, front somewhat crescent-shaped — 100 feet long, 50 feet 
wide, six stories high from the river, besides attic and basement. Front 
on Water-street, rear on the river, a few rods north of the east end of 
the aqueduct. 

In 1836, Henry B. Williams erected his mills at the second falls, 
with four pairs of stones. The firm is now H. B. Williams & Co. (E. S. 
Beach and John H. Beach). These mills front on Brown's race, with 
rear on the river. They are built of stone, four stories besides attic 
and grinding-floor — 54 feet front, 59 feet rear, and 72 feet deep. 

Same year, Mack and Paterson erected the mills at the second falls, 
with four pairs of stones ; front on Brown's race, and rear on the river. 
They are built of stone, 45 feet front, 108 feet long ; showing in front 
three stories and attic, but having below two floors for grinding, &c, 
the lowest floor being 42 feet above the foundation of the rear wall. 

In addition to the foregoing there are severel establishments designed 
partly for flouring and partly for custom-work — such as the City Grist- 
mills of Henry L. Achilles, fronting on Brown's race, with rear on the 
river — the mill of Curtis, Leonard, & Co., corner of Main and Water 
streets, leased to C. V. D. Cook & Co. A custom-mill belonging to Jo- 
seph Strong, and leased by R. Bemish, was burnt with the Hydraulic 
Building, oilmill, &c, in 1837. The mill of Gardiner M'Cracken, east 
side of the Lower Falls, has been converted into a paper-mill, and leased 
to Messrs. Foley & Co. 

Several gentlemen who reside in the city are interested in the flour- 
ing business in some neighbouring places ; such as James K. Living- 
ston, whose mills are at Irondequoit Falls, in Penfield, &c. 

Technically, a mill is one waterwheel with its machinery. The term 
mills is used where two or more water wheels are in the building. 

The attics and basements are mentioned, because, in most of the 
manufacturing edifices of Rochester, machinery is employed in those 
parts, owing to the demand for hydraulic power increasing faster than 
suitable buildings are erected. 



OTHER BRANCHES OP BUSINESS, *371 



; Other branches of Business, and Names of Persons carrying 

them on. 

(In addition to the trades and professions already named, under various heads.) 

Carpet Factory.— The time is probably not far distant when the city of Rochester 

will become as celebrated for its carpeting as Kidderminster or Paisley. The success 

• with which the business of carpet- weaving has been pursued here, notwithstanding 
the disastrous effects of the fire which destroyed the first factory in the Globe Build- 
ings, renders the matter peculiarly worthy of the attention of all who duly appreciate 
our local prosperity or the success of domestic manufactures. The carpet business 
was commenced in Rochester by Messrs. Newell and Stebbins in 1832, and continued 
by them, with excellent prospects of success, till their establishment was wholly 

i destroyed by the great fire at the Globe Buildings early in 1834. The machinery 
having been all burnt, the business was interrupted till December, 1835, when a 
Bimilar manufactory was established by Mr. Erasmus D. Smith and others. This es- 
tablishment was sold in 1837 to Messrs. William Kidd and Thomas J. Paterson, by 
whom the business (greatly extended) is now carried on. Two large establishments 
are employed in different branches of business connected with the carpet manufacture : 
one of these buildings is the brick factory (leased from Christopher H. Graham) at 
the Lower Falls, where the yarn is prepared from the wool ; the other building, in 
which the weaving and dying are carried on, is near Selye's fire-engine factory at the 

j Middle Falls. The whole establishment contains 2 looms for Venetian carpeting, 8 
looms for fine and 10 for superfine Scotch carpeting. With these 20 looms about 40 
hands are steadily employed. The present consumption of wool is at the annual rate 
of about 90,000 lbs., worth about $25,000 ; which produces about 45,000 yards of fin- 
ished carpeting, worth about $50,000. Besides this, farmers in the vicinity and sur- 
rounding counties are supplied here to a considerable extent with carpets died and 
wove from their own yarn. The proprietors have been careful to select skilful Scotch 
weavers and dyers ; and their efforts to have colours, quality, and patterns equal to 
the best ever shown in our markets, are eminently successful. They contemplate en- 
larging their present number of looms, with the view that three-ply or imperial carpets 
and rugs of superior quality may give greater variety to the productions of this inter- 
esting establishment. 

The true friends of domestic manufactures will not require to be urged to bestow 
on this and all similar establishments that notice and patronage of which they are 
deserving. Yet there are hundreds, ay, thousands, in and about Rochester who are 
apparently unconscious or careless of the efforts made to establish this and other 
equally advantageous branches of business among us— hundreds and thousands, too, 
who profess great zeal for the prosperity of manufactures and the growth of the city .' 
The excellence of colour, figure, and material, which have been steadily aimed at, 
have established the character of the Rochester carpeting not merely in the surround- 
ing region, but in the New- York and Albany markets. Orders to a considerable 
extent are constantly filling for those cities ; and notwithstanding the temporary dis- 
couragements of the times, the steadiness of the demand furnishes convincing proof 
that the enterprising spirit which established and continued this manufacture was 
well-directed, as we trust it will be handsomely rewarded by the results which should 
ever follow industry and capital rightly employed. 

Cloth Fa ctories, Woollen— The principal woollen factory, lately owned by Edmund 
and Hervey Lyon, was burnt soon after it was purchased by a company that intended 
to prosecute the business very extensively. The ruined building has been bought by 
E. Lyon and Joseph Field, and will soon be rebuilt. It was a valuable establishment 
to the city. The woollen factories now in operation are that of Horatio N. Curtiss — 
that of Henry B. Coleman— that of Chester Cook and Silas Pierce— besides the cloth- 
dressing and wool-carding establishments of Calvin Lewis & Co. 

Firearms. — The excellence of the Rochester rifles is becoming so generally known 
as to enlarge greatly the demand for the article. The work turned out from the fac- 
tories of Joseph Medbery, Ephraim Gilbert, and J. & J. Miller, is certainly creditable 
to those manufacturers and to the mechanics of the city. The Messrs. Miller are pa- 
tentees of the seven-shot rifle and pistol, for which frequent orders are received, from 
the south particularly. 

Fire-Engines— While Rochester can thus furnish the southerners with the means 
of keeping up a brisk fire against the Seminoles and Mexicans, engines and hy- 
drations can be furnished from her workshops to protect half the towns in the land 
against the ravages of the "devouring element." Selye's Fire-Engine Factory ia 
not only supplying many of the towns even unto the "Far West," but is actually 
making headway eastward against the competition of older establishments in the at- 



372* 



SKETCHES OP ROCHESTER, ETC. 



lantic cities. Several of the Rochester engines have been bought in the city of 
Schenectady, in Columbia county, &c. The corporation of Schenectady, having pre- 
viously tested the excellence of Selye's machines, formally resolved that they were 
" best adapted to the wants of the city, on account of the facility with which they 
throw water and the perfect ease with which they are kept in repair ; so that in every 
emergency, they (the Rochester engines) can be relied upon with entire confidence." 
(Vide Schenectady papers of February 10th, 1836.) A compliment, equally handsome 
and well deserved, to the ingenuity and enterprise of our townsman, Lewis Selye, 
who has established this and other branches of business through the force of his 
own skill and perseverance, unaided by any stock companies or capitalists. This 
fire-engine factory has recently completed an order for ten of the best quality of 
engines for the United States Government — to be distributed among the fortifications 
on the Atlantic and westward. Those who reflect on the value of such manufac- 
tures to the city of Rochester will excuse the length of this notice. One such fac- 
tory as either of those above mentioned contributes more to the solid wealth of a 
place than would several wholesale stores— owing to the greatly increased value 
placed by labour on the raw material, and the consequent ability to sustain a large 
portion of industrious population without the use of so much capital. 

Tanneries — The establishment of Jacob Graves is one of the largest and most per- 
fect in the state. All the buildings shown in the accompanying engraving are used 
for the business. Built of stone chiefly, the remainder of brick. The tannery of 
P. W. Jennings and Rul'us Keeler adjoins that of Mr. Graves. 

Morocco-dressers and Wool-merchants— Enickson & Parsons, Edward Roggen. 

Paper-making. — Gilman and Sibley established a paper-mill in 1819, which passed 
into the hands of Everard Peck, and was burnt several years ago. The business 
was discontinued ; but a new start has been made in it by P. Foley & Co., who have 
leased and altered for the purpose the flouring-mill of Dr. M'Cracken, on the east side 
of the Lower Falls, in the second ward. From the copious supply of good water 
there obtained from springs, and from the goodness of the machinery, there is reason 
to believe that this will become a valuable branch of business. A paper warehouse is 
established in the city by Everard Peck and William Ailing. 

Piano Manufactory— Among the valuable branches of business recently intro- 
duced, the manufacture of pianos is deserving of particular notice. N. Bingham 
has the merit of having, by his skill and enterprise, brought this business to such 
perfection, that the Rochester pianos may bear comparison with the best that are made 
elsewhere. The increasing wealth and improving taste of the people of the sur- 
rounding country, as well as of the city, furnish encouraging evidence to the worthy 
manufacturer that the tone and construction of his instruments are becoming properly 
appreciated throughout this region. The pianos from this establishment are on the 
most approved plans, and sales have been made of some worth between four and five 
hundred dollars. The manufactory is on Monroe-street, near Alexander-street— and 
B. C. Brown is agent for the sale of instruments, at the corner of State and Buffalo 
streets. 

Veneering— our native woods, &c— The black walnut, curled and birdseye maple, 
&c, of which abundant supplies are found in clearing our rich soils, are rapidly ad- 
vancing in public estimation, in this country as well as in Europe. Their very com- 
monness in this country is probably the chief reason why they have not been more 
highly esteemed among us at an earlier period. Far-fetched and dear-bought articles 
are too frequently preferred by fashion to the better and cheaper commodities fur- 
nished now, or which can be furnished, by our native land and by our own neigh- 
bours. The increasing demand for the variety of American fancy woods, and the 
fact that the trees grow only in the rich soils usually first cleared and tilled, must 
soon enhance the price of those articles to rates resembling those of foreign growth. 
The establishment of A. Whipple & Co., for sawing and preparing veneers, is a 
striking evidence of intelligent enterprise on the part of the manufacturers and the 
capitalist who has aided the undertaking by his wealth — the manufacturers being not 
only self-taught in the business, but having constructed their excellent machinery 
wholly themselves, as well as personally disposed of some specimens of their work, 
and made contracts for regularly supplying London, Dublin, Edinburgh, Paris, and 
other foreign cities. The veneering-mill is a new and large stone building, between 
the flouring-mills of Hooker & Co. and those of Charles J. Hill, at the Lower Falls, 
in the fifth ward. 

Sawmills— Ball's sawmill and Griffith's sawmill, both run by John Biden, Jr. ; 
Julius Andrews, S. C. Jones and Brother, Russel Tomlinson, Bassett & Underhill, 
and M. Pound. There are now but seven sawmills, three having been taken away 
to give place to the new aqueduct. There are other dealers in lumber besides those 
who run the sawmills, such as Almon Bronson, N. Osborn, &e. 



OTHER BRANCHES OF BUSINESS. *373 

Dry Goods Stores— John C. Ackley; Amos B. Buckland; Edward Bardwell ; Ste- 
phen B. Bentley and Azel B. Brown ; Hiram Blanchard ; George Bartholick ; J. G. 
Billings and J. P. Bixford ; Sylvester Brown and C. H. Mason ; John Caldwell ; Timo- 
thy Chapman ; Artemas Doane and James H. Wild ; John Dunn ; James P. Dawson ; 
Walter S. Griffith ; John Gifford ; Simon P. W. Howe ; George Harwood ; James 
Jameson; William Kidd <fe Co. ; N. S. Kendrick ; Mitchell Loder and J. P. Brittin; 
Heman Loomis ; William M'Knight ; Jared Newell, Albert C. Newell, and William 
H. Thomas; Thos. J. Paterson, B. L. Souillard, and James Miller; Levi W. Sibley, 
Edwin Scrantom, and George A. Sibley ; Humphrey B. Sherman ; Ralph Snow ; Wm. 
H. and Levi A. Ward ; Ingersoll and Church. 

Ship Chandlery, Groceries, &c— George A. Avery, E. D. Smith, and Henry Brew- 
ster; Walter S. Griffith; Elijah F. and Albert G. Smith; William P. Smith. 

Groceries and Provisions— Edward S. Clark; Henry T. Hooker and Reuben A. 
Bunnell; P. B. L. Smith and Company: Elias Weed; Joseph Farley and Samuel 
Hamilton ; James W. Sawyer ; Alfred Hubbell ; Henry Campbell ; Preston Smith ; 
Joseph Halsey; S. B.Dewey; N. B. Merick; David Dickey; William G. Russell; 
Hildreth & Co.; S. F. Witherspoon ; A. Chapin ; E. A. Miller; N. H. Blossom; 
Marcus Morse ; Elisha Flowers ; John B. Dewey ; Charles Smith ; Calvin S. Gale ; 
Wm. H. Burtiss ; Joseph Cochrane ; Cornelius M'Guire ; Giles Carter ; Samuel B. 
Coleman ; M. Galusha; Lucius Bell; Quincy Stoddard ; P. J. Macnamara; John N. 
Green ; E. N. Pettee ; C. Mitchell ; William O'Neil ; James Rowe ; Robert Sloan 
and Hugh Cameron; J. Morton; Adam Linegar; Joseph Howard; Henry Staring; 
Thomas Edwards ; Edmund Moses ; Samuel Ball ; Joseph Alexander ; John I. Chap- 
pell ; John D. Wood; William J. Southerin ; Samuel I. Willett; J. P. Munschauer 
and Company ; James M'Mullen ; Charles T. Wing ; Charles T. Squier and Frederic 
Slott ; Thomas Betls ; Abel L. Jones ; E. F. Brown ; Austin Stewart ; John Steele ; 
John Sheridan ; James M'Intosh ; Gordon Hayes ; George Carter ; Moody and Dalton ; 
David M'Kay ; David Godden ; Sylvanus Butler ; Robert Christie ; Ira Bowen ; Milton 
Rose ; Nelson Townsend ; Thomas Greggs. 

Hardware- dealers — Josiah Sheldon and U. B. Sheldon ; E. Watts ; C. Hendrix ; D. 
R. Barton, H. Bancker, and Carlton Avery ; Bush and Viele ; B. and J. Wedd. 

Tailors and Dealers in Clothing — George Byington ; P. Kearney ; Christopher H. 
Graham; H. B.Sherman; Alfred M.Williams; Peter Y. Burke; John Burns; 
Thomas Jennings ; Garret A. Madden ; Benjamin T. Robinson ; Benjamin Bayliss, 
Samuel Bayliss ; John Perhannes ; James Buchan , George A. Wilkins ; Charles 
Thompson; Matthew Burns; William Soden; P. Doyle; J. Dolman; J. A. Tall- 
madge ; Henry Harrison ; Charles P. Dwyer ; J. G. Cozzens, &c. 

Leather-dealers— Jacob Graves ; Jacob and George Gould ; Oren Sage and Edwin 
Pancoast ; P. W. Jennings and Rufus Keeler. 

China, Glass, Crockery, &c. — Joseph Weekes a»d Company ; Charles W. Dundas. 
Besides these two stores, which sell by wholesale as well as retail, there are about 
twenty stores selling crockery and glassware among other goods. 

Builders — carpenters or masons— Nehemiah Osborn ; Jason Bassett ; Benjamin 
Adsit ; Charles G. Cumings ; Richard Gorsline ; Joseph Wood ; Henry Fox ; Elias J. 
Mershon ; Matthew Moore; Robert A. Hall; Philip Allen; J. T. Lockwood ; John 
Taylor; Carlos Dutton ; Robert Wilson; Martin R. Briggs ; Josiah Wilcox. 

Bakeries — There are twelve : kept by Harmon Taylor ; Jacob Howe ; Thomas F. 
and Christopher Passage ; John S. Caldwell ; Elias Ball and John Serpell ; R. & T. 
Stringham; Francis Shreve; William Connell; William Shahen; A. Griswold; P. 
M'Caffray ; Augustus Hebbens. 

Printing-offices— Luther Tucker; Shepard, Strong, and Dawson; David Hoyt; 
William Ailing ; C. S. Underwood. 

Hatters— John Haywood ; Darius Perrin and A. C. Wheeler ; Willis Kempshall ; 
Freeman Divoll ; C. Mollen ; Hiram Mason ; Charles Hubbell ; Ebenezer Knapp. 

Jewellers— Erastus Cook; Jonathan Packard and J. Kedzie; Wm. P. and Henry 
Staunton ; D. W. Chapman ; Lawrence Baron ; Cornelius Burr ; Edward Walker. 

Drug-stores — William Pitkin; John and Jabez D. Hawks; John M Winslow; 
John Smyles and Charles Bird ; George H. Sprigg ; Samuel Weeks and John Hadley. 

Bookstores— David Hoyt ; William Ailing; Clarendon Morse ; Nichols and Wilson ; 
Henry Stan wood & Co. 

Exchange- brokers— E. Ely ; J. T. Tallman ; H. Morison ; G. W. Pratt ; J. H. Watts. 

Chandlers — Moses Dyer and Co. ; Samuel Moulson ; Orlin Chapin ; Jacob Ander- 
son ; F. M'Geehan. The first two deal largely in tallow. 

Millinery-shops— Miss Charlock ; Mrs. Lucas; Mrs. M. U. Post; Miss Cooper; 
Mrs. Sanford; Miss S. A. Ferguson; Mrs. Wilson; Miss Olmstead; Miss Chase; 
Miss Kidd. 

Painters, sign and ornamental — Russell Green ; J. I. Robbins; A. H. Jones ; J. A. 
Sprague ; A. Reed ; W. H. Myers ; Evans <fc Arnold ; Munger & Ritchie ; J. Selkrig. 

Seed-stores— William Reynolds and Michael B. Bateham ; Kedie and Houghton. 

Bookbinderies— Three : Samuel Drake ; David Hoyt ; William Ailing. 

32 



374* SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

Edge-tools — The proficiency to which the Rochester manufacturers have attained 
is evidenced by the rapidly-increasing demand for ihe various edge-tools required by 
carpenters, coopers, and other mechanics. The exertions of Stager, Selye, Barton, 
Guild, &c, are worthy of much approbation connected with this branch of business, 
as they are rendering us independent of Sheffield and Birmingham in these matters. 
It is a duty which every citizen owes to his own interest, as well as to his neighbours 
and the city generally, to encourage the efforts of enterprising mechanics and manu- 
facturers. Those branches of business which place the greatest amount of value 
upon the raw material (such as the conversion of iron into articles worth from tenfold 
to fiftyfold the cost of the metal) aie particularly worthy of attention in cities like 
this. We trust that the advantage of the city, as well as the merits of enterprising 
artisans, will induce every well-wisher of domestic manufactures to render all the 
assistance in his power towards sustaining the efforts of those whose well-directed 
skill and industry have already so well established the reputation of Rochestkr 
edge-tools. There is this advantage, too, that tools here made are all warranted to 
the purchaser. The last fire at the southwest end of the River Bridge on Buffalo- 
street unluckily destroyed the establishments of Barton and Guild and Henry W. 
Stager. But. with characteristic enterprise, those persons have already recommenced 
manufacturing; and the countenance of their fellow citizens should be liberally 
bestowed on the establishments rising thus phoenix-like from the ashes. 

Iron Furnaces— Thomas Kempshall and John F. Bush, Lewis Kenyon, Andrew 
J. Langworthy, Lewis Selye. Connected with Mr. Langworthy's establishment, 
there is a malleable iron foundry going into operation. The casting of mill-irons and 
other machinery required about a manufacturing city like Rochester must make the 
furnace business always an important one. 

Copper, Tin, and Sheet-iron Factories— Ebenezer Watts; A. Achilles; A. B. 
Church ; Darius Cole ; John M. Clark ; Joseph Lockwood and Henry Sparks ; Calvin 
Whaples and Albert Morse ; Cornelius Austin ; A. Morse ; E. Y. Kneeland & Co. ; 
Leonard Hitchcock. 

Boat-building — There are six boatyards now, which may better be designated ship- 
yards when the enlarged canal shall require the construction of larger vessels than 
are now built. The reasons assigned by the Encyclopaedia Americana, quoted in the 
article on the canal trade, sufficiently explain the extent to which the boat-building 
has been carried on and must continue to be carried on at Rochester Our boatyards 
supply not only a large proportion of vessels for the Erie Canal, but many for other 
canals in this and other states. The boatyards are conducted by Seth C. Jones, by 
Walter Barhydt, by J. P. Milliner and David R. Barton, by Lars Larson, by Jeremiah 
Hildreth & Co., and by W. W. Howell and Brother. 

Cooperage— The extent of the flour manufacture furnishes employment for a large 
number of men in making barrels. About half a million being required annually, the 
outlay of the Rochester mills for barrels alone is usually between $150,000 and 
$200,000 each year. When to this item is added the cost of barrels required for pork, 
beer, beef, and other commodities, it must be considered within bounds to estimate the 
annual payment for cooperage in Rochester at an average of the last-mentioned sum— 
an amount greater than the whole value of the articles manufactured annually in 
some considerable villages. Such expenditures are the more important, as they go to 
pay for raw material, as well as labour furnished wholly in this neighbourhood— and 
thus add much to the wealth of the community, while sustaining a considerable num- 
ber of industrious mechanics and labourers. The cooperage business has been carried 
on by Ephraim Moore, M. Hall, P. Bucklay, Laban Bunker, William Lacey, and others 
in the vicinity. 

Cabinetmakers— William Brewster and Harvey T. Fenn ; Frederic Starr ; Cowles 
and Leavenworth ; Daniel Graves and Charles Robinson ; Bill Colby ; David Allen ; 
J. Bell ; J. Woodman ; Wakeman Burr; A. Kilbourn ; Smith, Van Allen, & Hinckley. 
Chairmdkers— Sylvester H. Packard ; H. Brown and A. Decker, chair-seat-makers. 
Breweries— There are three; one conducted by Nathan Lyman ; another by J. & G. 
Longmoor; and the third by Mathias B. Sparks. 
Distilleries— Three : Amos Sawyer; Epaphras Wolcott ; Hooker, Butmel, & Co. 
Scalemaker, patent platform— Robert L. M'Collum. This is a valuable invention, 
and is superseding other kinds of scales in some of our principal mills, factories, and 
stores. Those who want should examine this plan before buying. 
Piano and Music rooms — Bryant C. Brown ; H. Warner. 

Mill-iron-makers — Martin Briggs : such irons also made at the furnaces of L. Selye, 
Kempshall & Bush, &c. Burr-millstone Factory— Kempshall & Bush. 

Millbuilders — Robert Dalzell has had the superintendence of the erection of ten 
of the principal mills, as mentioned in the article about mills. 

Wood Pumpmaker— Daniel Stocking. Patent Pumps— Charles Foster. 
Pail, Tub, and Churn Factory, by machinery — John and Robert Braithwaite ; by 
hand, Laban Bunker, &c. Powder-factory — Parsons and Sparks. 

Variety St ores— Henry Scrantom; Ptolemy P. Thayer; Cyrus L. Sherman. 



OTHER BRANCHES OF BUSINESS. *375 

Shoe dealers and makers— Abner Wakelee ; J. & G. Gould ; O. Sage and E. Pan- 
coast ; Jesse and Isaac Congdon ; Ireland and Collins ; George Shale ; Enos Trayhern ; 
Stephen Y. Ailing ; Frink and Wilson ; Isaac Leonard : Garret and Adam M. Brown- 
ell ; E. H. Grover ; Wrn. Brown ; Edward Coffin : Randal Andrews, and others. 

Saddle and Harness makers and dealers— John Watts ; William E Lathrop ; Abra- 
ham A. Haven ; Edward Jennings & John Robbins : Joseph Propet ; Eggleston and 
Squier: E. T. Raymond. Ropemaker— William R. Griswold. 

Bridge-builders— Moses Long, agent for Col. Long's Patent; M' Arthur & Mahan. 

Coach and Carriage Makers— George Hanford and Jacob Witbeck ; William Dixon ; 
John Scoby and Gaius Lane ; Tiffany Hunn. 

Wagonmakers, &c— C. C. Lunt ; Johnson M. Southwick; Thos. Housam ; H. Rue. 

Wheelbarrows, &c— E. T. Bolles and Company. 

Coach-trimmer — Wm. Jewell. Coach -painters— George A. Evans ; George Arnold. 

Coachsmiths and Carriage-spring-makers— John Jones; John Tompkins. 

Lead-pipe and Pump m akers— Carter and Sanborn. 

Locks— new patent, E. B. Smith; an invention highly spoken of by competent judges. 

Shoe-peg Machinery— Jacob Shumway; N. Nichols; Atkinson and Birch. Trivial 
as such machinery may appear, it converts a few cords of wood mto several thou- 
sand dollars annually. Carding-machine-makers — E. Lee <fc Son. 

Looking-glass-makers, &c.— John II. Thompson ; William G. Griffin. 

Saleratus Man ufaciure— Austin Church; Hooker & Conkey ; Epaphras Wolcott. 

Stockmakers— Royal Wright ; M. Babeock. 

Thrashing machines— 5. Hall. Iron- square-maker— E. Q.Wright. 

Machine Pattern- makers— William A. Langworthy ; David Tuttle. 

Tobacco-factories— Walter S. Griffith ; Richard Ketchum. 

Upholsterer, Mattress-maker, <fcc— William Brewster. 

Umbrella and Parasol maker — John Humphries. 

Glue-factory— J. and J. D. Hawkes — also, sandpaper. 

Silvers?n it hs— James P. Steele, Samuel W. Lee. 

Silver-plater— George Tharp. Carriage and House Plater— John H. Quin. 

Wood-turners— George R. Lee; J. E. Lee: J. Copland. Wood-turning is also done 
in connexion with cabinet-making in other establishments. 

Hairworkers and Perfumers— John Sears ; John Robinson ; Sage and Baird. 

Boot-tree and Last Turners— N. Nichols and Co. ; H. Wing and G. F. Wing. 

Lathmill— Charles Hotchkiss and David Osborn. 

Marble-dressers— Zebulon Hebard ; Leonard B. Shears ; George King. 

Stave and Plank dressing— Edward Jones. Machines are erected for dressing 
staves, and for planing and grooving plank ready for flooring, &c. Worth seeing. 

Turners, iron — Z. Stetson ; John Colby. 

Confectioners— A. Hubbell ; Jas. Bond ; J. Dawley ; P. and J. Connelly ; F. Plumb. 

Combmakers— Martin Albro and Mason Tafft ; W. W. Kenyon and M. Blackman. 

Carpetweaver— David Dixon. Carpetloom-maker — William Stebbins. 

Fanning-mill and Cradle makers— James Myers ; Joseph Harris ; E. W. Bryan. 

Glovemakers, etc. — Reuben Leonard ; Philander Gregory. 

Spirit-levels and plumbs— J. E. Eldred <fc Co. This is a valuable article in its way.' 

Augermaker— William Walker. Brushmaker— John Holbrook. 

Planemakers— James S. Benton ; Evan Evans ; L. Kennedy, Jr. 

Screwmaker, wood— A. Isbell. Saddler's toolmaker — S. A. Hebard. 

Sash and Blind makers, and door-mortising, by machinery— Joseph Johnson; 
1 Wakeman Burr. Sash, fancy sash and blinds, by hand. David H. Traphagen. 

Scale-board, for bandboxes, book-covers. Sic— J. and R. Braithwaite. 

Washing-machine-makers— G. Levingworih and R. Beach ; J. Torrey ; J. Johnson. 
; Water-wheel, patent — J. E. Lee, maker and agent. 

Blacksmith-shops— C. H. Bicknell ; Wm. Simpson ; J. Kavanagh : Levi Walker ; 
Nathan Picket ; Charles S. Sharp ; Robert M. Boorman ; Gaius Huntley ; James 
Lane ; E. Tillotson ; Wm. Johnston ; David T. Jones ; Griffin Dunkin ; John Colby ; 
Thomas Baird ; F. H. Shardlow, and several others. 

Livery- stables — Joseph Christopher ; B. M.Baker; George Charles ; Alex. Shaw; 

; E. N. Pettee; Peter Tone: W. Norton. From these stables carriages are always to 

1 be found during the day, excepting the Sabbath, in the street, near the Courthouse, 

for the convenience of persons wishing to take rides around the city. Christopher's 

stable was formerly the theatre ; and Baker's stable is of mammoth size. 

Surveyors and Civil Engineers — In addition to those mentioned in connexion with 
the canals and railroads, Elisha Johnson ; Silas Cornell ; Valentine Gill ; M. M. Hall ; 
S. W. Hall ; Charles B. Petrie ; Orville W. Childs. 
Professors of Music— B. Hill ; E. Walker: B. C. Brown, and Mr. Dana. 
Omissions— The Erie and Ohio Canal Line (S. Rich & Co. agents at Rochester) 
■ was omitted in the article about Transportation. The name of D. Haines was omit- 
ted in the list of surgeon dentists in the article about the Medical Profession, and that 
of E. A. Hopkins from the list of attorneys in the article on the Bar of Rochester. 



376* SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

Hotels, of Rochester. 

There are upward of thirty taverns—" some of which," as the Albany Journal re- 
marked, " would reflect credit on any city." The larger portion of the remainder af- 
ford comfortable accommodation to the multitude of visiters from the surrounding 
country, and to the travellers by canal, lake, stage, and railroad. 

Eagle Tavern, by Kilian H. Van Rensselaer; Rochester House, by Charles Mor- 
ton ; Monroe House, by Henry F. West ; United States Hotel, by George Gates. Of 
these four, engravings are annexed, and render description needless. 

Mansion House, by Henry Whitbeck; Clinton House, by Isaac Ashley; Spring- 
street House, by Mrs. Ensworth ; Arcade House, by Thomas Watson ; North Ameri- 
can Hotel, by William C. Green ; Fourth Ward House, by Lemuel Hatch ; Blossom 
Hotel, by Simon Ashley; Rensselaer House, by P. Tone; Tavern, by A.J. Alex- 
ander; Ontario House, by Jonathan Lee; Brighton Hotel; Farmer's Hotel, by A. 
Green; Carthage Tavern, by J. Poppino ; Cottage Tavern, by J. Hubbard; Frank- 
fort House; Cornhill Tavern; Tavern, by C. C. Lunt ; Western Hotel, by Russel 
Roach; Tavern, by M. Omaley; Wnlcot Tavern, by Benjamin Clark; Tavern, by 
Ray Marsh ; Tavern, by Wm. J. M'Cracken ; Cordial House, by D. Wescott; Tav- 
ern, by P. Bucklay ; Railroad House, by Power & Lux ; Tavern, Main-street, by R. 
Murdock; Tavern, Sophia-street, by John Swift; Third Ward House, by Abner 
Sherman ; Tavern, St. Paul-street, by J. Polly. 

Railroad Recess, by Henry Kilfoyle; Recess, Front street, by O. Hayes; Recess, 
Main-street, by Wm. M. Hawkins ; City Recess, by John Hawkins. 

Bathing-houses . 

There are two bathing establishments in the city ; one of which is well supplied 
with mineral water— the other has been, but is not now, as some change in the course 
of the waters under ground has given a supply of fresh water. One of these is in 
Buffalo-street, between Sophia and Washington; the other on the east bank of the 
river, connected with the brewery of Messrs. Longmoor. The patronage of both 
establishments is increasing with' the population, and as people learn to appreciate 
the secrets of health. The springs which supply these bathing-houses are mentioned 
in connexion with various mineral springs, among the geological notices in this 
volume. Lake Ontario, and the river without the city limits, are considerably re- 
sorted to for bathing. 

The City Reading-rooms 

Are in the second story of Loomis's Building, next south of the Rochester City 
Bank. Here, in one room, may be found dnily supplies of the prominent newspapers 
from different parts of the United States; and in another room, with a library that 
will shortly be much increased, there are also to be found a regular supply of the 
prominent magazines and reviews of Great Britain and the United States. The 
rooms are well lighted every evening, save the Sabbath, till 10 o'clock. From the 
convenient location, a central spot in a pleasant street, and from the good regulations 
observed in the establishment, these reading-rooms are becoming much frequented. 
Lectures have been delivered here twice a week during the winter by various gentle- 
men, before the Young Men's Association, by whom these reading-rooms were 
arranged and are chiefly supported, as stated more particularly in the article about 
that association. The librarian, who has charge of the Reading-rooms, is Daniel 
Moore, whose fidelity in observing the regulations for the government of the institu- 
tion is worthy of notice. There is a notice at the bottom of the printed " regulations," 
which is deserving of insertion here, for the benefit of travellers who may visit 
Rochester, and who may wish to spend an evening more pleasantly than circum- 
stances often permit in the best-regulated tavern : 

ID 3 " Strangers 

" Can be introduced to the City Reading-rooms by applying to the landlords of 
the hotels ; and they may find abundant supplies of newspapers from various quarters 
of the Union, and from the Canadas. The principal reviews and magazines, American 
and European, are regularly received at these rooms ; and these also, with the use 
of the Library, are for the use gratuitously of all strangers thus introduced," &c. 

The members and subscribers have free access to the lectures, as well as to the 
library, reviews, and magazines. The prospects of the institution are every way 
encouraging, 



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THE NEW MARKET, COURTHOUSE, ETC. # 377 

The New Market. 

This edifice is creditable to the city. There is but one market-house in the Union, 
and that is in Boston, which can be compared with this market in its general arrange* 
ments. The appearance of the building is shown in the accompanying engraving. 
The edifice is built of stone and brick : it is about 200 feet long, extending along the 
west bank of the Genesee River— the waters washing its basement, and affording 
facilities for cleansing the building. The wings extend about 80 feet from either end 
on the west side— thus forming three sides of a square fronting on Front-street, and 
having a new street called Market-street opened in front of it up to State-street. 
The location is about equidistant between the canal aqueduct and the Main Falls, a 
few rods north of the main bridge. The edifice is substantially as well as tastefully 
constructed — the basement story being of cut stone and the superstructure of brick. 
The parts of the main building and wings fronting on the square are supported by 
square stone columns, with large doors and windows, arranged with green blinds, and 
presenting an appearance unsurpassed by the lower part of any range of stores in the 
city. The stalls are arranged on the east side of the main building and on the north and 
south sides of the wings, which are all connected- there being an ample passage-way 
between the stalls and the trout of the building. Each stall on the east side opens 
by a door upon the long balcony which overhangs the river ; and thus is secured free 
ventilation as well as facilities for cleansing the building. Taken altogether, the 
construction and management of the building is creditable to the corporation and to 
the occupants of the stalls, as the judgment of the latter was consulted in the building, 
and their neatness is manifested by the manner in which thy observe the regulations 
of the market. Indeed, so tastefully arranged is the concern (which can be all closed 
as tight as a parlour in winter), that it would hardly be out of character should our 
friends of the cleaver conclude to carpet the whole market for the reception of cus- 
tomers. The temperature is made pleasant in winter by stoves ; and the building is 
"well lighted by the corporation on market nights. Should any of the New-York or 
Philadelphia gentlemen butchers visit Rochester when on their fashionable tours to 
the falls, &c, the perfection of this new market will probably cause them to " strike" 
for better edifices on returning to their respective cities. 

The basement story is well fitted for packing beef, besides serving for a fish market, 
&c. The space in front of the edifice may serve temporarily for a vegetable market, 
but we hope the corporation will purchase ampler grounds for that purpose. With 
such an addition, the Rochester New Market would be perfect in its kind. It may be 
added that the building cost about $25,000; that the length of the wings, added to 
that of the main building, makes a total of about 350 feet — that the masonry was 
erected by Richard Gorsline, and the woodwork finished by Nehemiah Osborn and 
Brother. The building committees during its construction consisted of Aldermen 
Joseph Strong, L. K. Faulkner, Warham Whitney, Win. H. Waid, and Hestor L. 
Stevens— to whose good taste, and to that of the other members of the corporation, 
approbation is justly due. 

This meat market is now occupied by B. W. Durfee, Jacob Thorn, Edward Frost, 
Samuel Moulson, William J. Southerin, Alonzo Frost, Edward Champeney, Oilman 
Leavitt, John Quin, Martin Wilson, Asa Weston, Spencer Davis, Clark Wilbur, and 
M. Veeder. There is a small market farther north, called Frankfort Market. 

The Courthouse in Rochester 

la situated on a large lot bestowed for county purposes by Rochester, Fitzhugh, and 
Carroll, the proprietors of the Hundred-acre Tract. It is a stone building 60 by 70 
feet, two stories high, besides a basement floor for offices, &.c. The corporation of 
the city and the mayor's court are accommodated with a room occupying half of the 
first story. The county courtroom occupies the whole of the second story. 

A city hall is much wanted to accommodate the various officers of the city and to 
promote the convenience of the citizens who have business with them. 

The Jail of Monroe County 
Is built in the southern part of the city of Rochester, so close to the river that the 
waters wash its eastern foundation wall. The who'e building is of stone, and is 100 
feet long by 40 feet wide. The main prison is 60 by 40 feet ; and in it is a block of 
cells two tiers high, and forty in number. These cells are four feet wide, eight feet 
long, and seven feet high. Above them is a room the whole size of this prison, 60 by 
40, which will, in time, be finished into cells of larger size. The jailer's dwelling, 
which forms part of the edifice, is 40 feet square and three stories high, the first and 
second stories of which are occupied by him ; the third story being divided into seven 
rooms, intended for debtors, but used at present for the confinement of women and 
for men charged with light offences. This class of men are commonly employed in 
turning various articles, in making furniture, in tailoring, shoemaking, and weaving. 
During the last summer, the men under sentence were employed in breaking stone in 

32* 



378* SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

the yard ; the lowest number thus employed in the yard at any one time was 15, and 
the highest 38. The average number of prisoners in the whole jail for the year ending 
on the 4th of October, 1837, was about. 50; the highest number at any one time was 
91 and the lowest 23. Edwin Avery, the late jailer, kept in the yard a man and a 
boy to assist in governing the prisoners engaged in outdoor work. All the prisoners 
inside were solely managed by himself. It gives us great pleasure to be able to bear 
testimony to the exemplary manner in which Mr. Avery discharged his duties, not 
merely as a public officer, but as a humane citizen. He deserves much credit for 
meliorating the condition of the prisoners by inducing them to labour voluntarily in 
various useful ways, and for endeavouring to promote the education of boys and other 
prisoners who could conveniently be taught in the upper part of the building. In 
these efforts he was seconded by Mr. Elias Pond, the late sheriff; and we doubt not 
that the present sheriff, Darius Perrin, will cordially co-operate with the present 
jailer, Ephraim Gilbert, in continuing efforts so happily begun for improving the con- 
dition of the vicious or unfortunate who may be thrown in their charge. The benev- 
olent among our citizens, male and female, should not fail to visit occasionally, and aid 
in promoting the good work. The examples of Howard, and Eddy, and Mrs. Fry, 
are worthy of all emulation. The proper authorities should lose no time in enclosing 
the whole of the fine lot on which the jail is situated, that thus greater facilities may 
be afforded for employing the prisoners, to the improvement of morals and preserva- 
tion of health. In considering the number of prisoners, it should be borne in mind 
that the county from which they are collected is exceeded in population by only four 
counties in the state, 

Bridges of Rochester. 

There is a sufficiency of bridges across the canal ; but those across the river are not 
what they ought to be, nor sufficiently numerous. We are rather " behind the intelli- 
gence of the age" in this latter matter. There are now but two bridges across the river 
in the city, and none between the city and Lake Ontario. However, there is a prospect 
that we shall soon have a full supply in this respect. A law exists authorizing a tax 
for rebuilding the main bridge; that which connects Buffalo-street on the west side 
with Main-street on the east side of the river. A new bridge will be erected in the 
summer of 1838 midway between the main bridge and the Main or Middle Falls, to 
connect Mumford-street on the west side with Andrews-street on the east side. We 
are informed that the proprietors of the third water-power will about the same time 
erect a bridge to connect their tract with a street running down the west bank beside 
the mills of VVarham Whitney & Co. A bridge is projected in the southerly part of 
the city, to cross somewhere about the dam which supplies the races at the first falls 
or rapids near the jail. The railroad bridge of the Rochester and Auburn Company, 
which is to be immediately built, will cross the river a few rods south of the Main or 
Middle Falls, near the dam which supplies Gibbs's Mills on the east side and 
Brown's Race on the west side ; and will be so arranged as to furnish conveniences 
for foot-passengers. The new aqueduct will have a better footpath than the old one 
has; so that a short time will render the communications by bridges between the op- 
posite sides of the river in Rochester as good as could reasonably be desired. 

After Carthage Bridge fell, of which notice is elsewhere taken, a bridge was built 
at the Lower Falls, within a short distance of that stupendous work, this second 
bridge was swept away several years ago ; and another erected a couple of years ago 
near the same place shared a similar fate in the great flood of 1835. 

There was a toll-bridge formerly near where the Rochester and Auburn Railroad 
bridge will cross. It was erected in 1819 by Messrs. Mumford and Brown; but it 
soon became ruinous. It was used by foot-passengers even when it seemed rather 
hazardous ; and a remark made by the Duke of Saxe Weimar respecting it has occa- 
sionally recurred to us on noticing the defective condition of some other bridges. 
When about to cross for the purpose of viewing the falls in company with Colonel 
John H. Thompson and other gentlemen, the duke found that some of the timbers 
yielded to his pressure ; and hastily withdrawing, significantly declared that he had 
" a wife and children at home." 

The Tonnewanta Railroad Bridge across the Erie Canal on the west side of the 
river in Rochester is 178 feet in length ; its longest span is 120 feet between the 
bearings. It was built in 1836 by M' Arthur and Mahan, sub-agents of Dr. Moses 
Long, of Rochester, on Colonel S. H. Long's patent plan. " The important advantages 
possessed by Colonel Long's bridges over others are, that the strain on the important 
timbers is endwise, either by tension or thrust ; and this, too, without any material 
strain or thrust against the abutments. Any defects which time may make can be re- 
paired with about the same facility as the putting in of the orginial timber." This 
bridge has certainly withstood well all the pressure of the heavy trains passing over it. 
A view of it is annexed. It may be remarked that the construction of the passenger 
cars present a different appearance from that of the cars on other railroads ; being 
built on a plan of Elisha Johnson, by which the baggage finds an apartment in the 
same car wherein the owners are seated. 



PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS. 



*379 



STREETS OF ROCHESTER. 

Within the last seven years, even the main streets of Rochester, 
cut up by the thousand wagons freighted with the products of the sur- 
rounding country, presented during most of the year a spectacle which 
caused the place to be jocularly called the " City of Mud." On this 
point, so essential to cleanliness, comfort, and health, there is now, in 
view of the recent improvements, much reason for gratification. The 
change effected is great indeed. 

There are now within the city limits pavement and macadamization 
in streets and alleys, and sidewalks of brick and flagging, to an extent 
that renders locomotion less laborious than it was a few years ago. 

Mr. J. M'Connell, a contractor of well-known energy in " mending 
our ways," has promptly complied with our request on the subject by 
furnishing the following statements of the progress and present condition 
of the street improvements in Rochester, above and under ground, for 
the extent of the sewers is worthy of particular notice. It will be per- 
ceived that most of the streets are of good width. 

Those who may be curious in examining the minutia as well as extent 
of improvements in new settlements will probably pardon the occupa- 
tion of so much space with a " bill of particulars." 

Street Improvements in Rochester prior to 1837 

•a bi -a < 



Names of Streets Improved. 



Buffalo-st., from Main Br. to Canal Br 
" from Canal Br. to burying ground 
" from burying ground to city line 

Main-st., from Main Br. to Stilson st. 

St. Paul-st., from Andrew-st. to Canal Br. 

Monroe-st., from Clinton to Alexander-st. 
" " Alex -st. to city line . 

Clinton-st., from Court to Monroe-street 
" " Court to Andrew-street 

Mortimer-st., from St. Paul to Clinton-st 

Court-st., from Clinton to Exchange-st. 

State-st., from Buffalo-st. to Lyel Road 

Spring-st., from Exchange to High-st. . 

Exchange-st , from Buffalo to Court-st. 

Sophia-st., from Spring to Adams-st. . 

And from Canal Bridge to Ann-st. 

Fitzhugh-st., from Troup to Ann-st. . 

Troup-st., from Fitzhugh to Sophia-st. 

Ann-st., from State to Elizabeth-st. . 

Elizabeth-st., from Buffalo to Ann-st. 

Works-st., from State to Front-st. . . 

River Alley, from Works to Mumford-st. 

Pindle Alley, from Buffalo to Ann-st. . 

Montgomery Alley, fr. Buffalo to Ann-st. 

And from Spring to Troup-st. . . . 

North-st., from Main-st. North . . . 

South-st., from Court-st. South . . . 
Total length of each in yards. . 



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821 


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164i» 


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700 


700 


1400 


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1183 








50 


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650 


1900 


33 


33 


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773 


500 


2546 


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800 


800 


1600 


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130 




130 

1200 




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500 


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59 


69 


17 


1144 


300 


2888 


29 




10 


634 




1268 


59 


69 


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10 
10 
8 
10 


120 


240 


700 
1084 

675 
1400 

200 

366 




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275 








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380* SKETCHES OP ROCHESTER, ETC. 

Street Improvements completed in Rochester in 1837. 
800 feet in length of Main-street ; macadamized 36 feet in centre ; 

paved 10 feet on each side ; cut kerbstones ; sidewalks on each 

side, 17 feet wide. 
880 feet on North and South St. Paul-street ; macadamized track 22 

feet ; paved on each side, 10 feet ; cut kerbstones ; sidewalks on 

each side, 12 feet wide. 
2200 feet of Main- street, east section, macadamized 30 feet in width ; 

paved 8 feet on each side ; hammer dressed kerbstones ; sidewalks 

on each side, 10 feet wide. 
800 feet on Front-street ; macadamized 26 feet wide ; paved on each 

side 8 feet ; cut kerbstones ; sidewalks 12 feet wide on each side. 
1100 feet South Fitzhugh-street ; graded, gravelled 32 feet wide; 

paved 6 feet wide on each side ; cut kerbstones ; sidewalk 12 feet 

wide. 

Sewers in Rochester previous to 1834. 
Troup-street sewer, 3000 feet long, angling through the centre of the 

city. 
500 feet of sewer from Rochester House to Buffalo-street ; from thence 

to river 450 feet. 
700 feet of sewer along State and Mumford streets. 
400 feet of sewer called Factory-street sewer. 
Clinton- street sewer, along Johnson and Stone sts. through property to 

St. Paul-street, distance about 2000 feet. 
None of these sewers are less than 2 feet square, and Troup-street 

sewer is 3 feet square. 

1835. Fish-street sewer, 875 feet long, 3 feet square on State-street. 
M'Crocken sewer, 485 feet long, 2 feet by 1 foot 10 inches on 
State-street. Ann-street sewer, 1750 feet long, 3 feet square, from 
the river to Elizabeth-street. 

Spring-street sewer, 560 feet, 2 feet square, from Troup-street sewer 

to Fitzhugh-street, with lateral sewers. 
Mortimer-street sewer, 500 feet long and 2 feet square. 
River Alley sewer, 350 feet long and 2 feet square. 

1836. Buffalo-street sewer, from the river to Washington-street, arched, 
3 feet 6 inches wide, and 5 feet 3 inches high to crown of arch, 
with lateral sewers to every alternate property, when the property 
does not exceed 50 feet front. The whole laid in water cement at 
an expense of $7500. 

Buffalo-street middle-section sewer, from Ford-street to Park Place ; 

laid in water cement, 800 feet long and 2 feet square. 
Buffalo-street sewer, from Washington-street west to Canal Bridge ; 

450 feet long, 2 feet square. 
Monroe and Clinton streets sewer, 1100 feet long, 2 feet square. 
Court-street sewer, 500 feet long, 2 feet square. 
Plat-street sewer, 1700 feet long, 3 feet by 2 1-2 feet. 

1837. Main-street sewer, 800 feet long, 3 feet by 2 1-2 feet ; laid in 
water cement, with lateral sewers to each property. 

North and South St. Paul-street sewers, 850 feet long, 2 feet square, 
with lateral sewers. 
The estimated expense of the above sewers is about $27,000 



THE MUSEUM, WATERWORKS, ETC. *381 



The Rochester Museum. 
This establishment is steadily accumulating curiosities, and has advanced as 
rapidly as could reasonably be expected in a place of such recent origin as Rochester. 
The proprietor, J. R. Bishop, is indefatigable in his efforts to collect and preserve 
whatever may be within his means for gratifying curiosity. Rooms more easy of 
access and more spacious would render the Museum more attractive. Some small 
remains of the Mastodon, found in Perrinton, in Rochester, and on the western 
prairies, may be seen in this collection. 

The Promenade 
Is situate on the east bank of the Genesee River, abreast of the Middle or Main 
Falls. This spot, much frequented by visiters, commands a fine view of the city on 
both sides of the stream, as well as of the cataract. The ground is high, and affords 
opportunity for the arrangement of a pleasant promenade. It is now private property 
— owned by an association of manufacturers interested in the water-power ; and was 
purchased by them for the purpose of securing to their use on the west side the pro- 
portion of water to which this ground on the east side is entitled. From this prome- 
nade, at a point about thirty rods north of the Genesee Falls Mills, the visiter may ob- 
tain views of the Main Falls like those represented in the engravings. This spot is 
at present a pasture lot— without those improvements which might be expected in 
such a commanding situation. It is not improbable that an effort will be made soon 
to procure this commanding spot for the recreation of the citizens, and for the suitable 
reception of the travellers who in great numbers visit the place, notwithstanding the 
present access to it is not very inviting. It cannot be doubted that those who bought 
the tract for the sake of using elsewhere the water to which it is entitled will dis- 
pose of the land on reasonable terms for purposes such as are here noticed. 

As the city has never been at the expense of purchasing any of the public squares 
(those grounds being the gifts of individuals who owned property around them), some 
expenditures in this way, when present pecuniary difficulties shall have subsided, 
would not probably be considered improper by the generality of citizens, 

Rochester Waterworks Company. 

This corporation was created in 1835 for the purpose of supplying the city with 
" pure and wholesome water," to be conducted from a copious spring of excellent 
water situate in a tract of high and broken land on the southerly line of the city, near 
the new Cemetery and beside the river. The land is owned by Charles J. Hill. 
An organization is effected under the charter ; but the works are not yet constructed. 
The directors, elected by the stockholders, are Levi Ward, Jr., Charles J. Hill, James 
M. Fish, Levi W. Sibley, and George W. Pratt— the first-named persons being presi- 
dent and secretary. The high grounds around the spring command a beautiful view 
of the city, &c. 

Supplying of Water. 

On the subject of supplying the city with pure water for culinary and other uses, 
Mayor Johnson followed up the suggestions of his inaugural address by a report to the 
Common Council on the 16th of January, 1838. This report has been issued in pam- 
phlet form, twenty pages octavo, from the press of Luther Tucker. The importance 
of early and extensive arrangements for supplying all parts of the city plentifully 
with water — the increased facilities for comfort, health, and business, and the aug- 
mented security against fire, which would thus be afforded — together with the pe- 
cuniary economy of the measure, are set forth convincingly by this report. A cal- 
culation is made to show that the cost of the requisite waterworks would be speedily 
counterbalanced to the citizens by the diminished rate of ensurance consequent on such 
additional safeguards against fire as would be afforded by the branches of the works 
scattered throughout the city. The mayor suggests a plan for effecting these objects 
by forming reservoirs beside the river, wherein sufficient water could be secured to 
supply the city during the turbid state of the stream in high floods, <fec. These res- 
ervoirs are calculated " to contain 12,315,646 gallons of water— an ample supply for 
the city during the longest river floods." 

"The works would furnish daily about 1,500,000 gallons, or 450 gallons to each 
family of six persons, in a population of 20,000," says the mayor. " In other cities, 
the average quantity used for all purposes is about 150 gallons to each family of six 
persons in the entire population. We should be able to furnish this quantity to 
10,000 families or 60,000 inhabitants. The actual cost of this water would be one 
cent for 608 1-3 gallons, or about 16 8-9 barrels." The estimates may appear low- 
to those who consider not the local facilities for accomplishing the object. 



382* SKETCHES OP ROCHESTER, ETC. 



Fuel — Wood and Coal. 

The city is at present abundantly supplied with fire-wood— at an expense for say 
beach and maple of about $2 50 per cord, delivered at the houses. But it is necessary 
to reflect now on the prospects of a supply of other fuel. The facilities for obtaining 
coal consequent on the construction of the Genesee Valley Canal are among the 
important considerations connected with that valuable improvement. Some interest- 
ing examinations on this subject were made last summer by Frederic C. Mills, 
the chief engineer of the Genesee Canal. These investigations resulted from the 
proposed improvements between the southern termination of the canal (at Olean) 
and the coal-beds of Pennsylvania. By means of a short canal and slackwater navi- 
gation up the Allegany, partly within the limits of both states, the coal and iron beds 
along Potato Creek in M'Kean county may be easily reached. Mr. Mills surveyed 
the portion of the route between Olean and the Pennsylvania line, and inspected the 
remainder of the distance, as well as the depositories of the minerals. He states 
that he was surprised to find so little fall in the streams, and the flats so well adapted 
to canalling. The coal lies in a direct line, about twenty-eight miles south of the 
junction of the Genesee Canal with the Allegany River at Olean ; but the len»th of 
the contemplated improvement for reaching the mineral would probably be forty-two 
miles, about eight of which would be in the State of New- York. " I saw the coal at 
five places," says Mr. Mills, " varying from one fourth to one mile apart. It was dif- 
ficult to determine with certainty whether at all the points the coal was of different 
veins or not, though I am inclined to believe it was at most, if not all of them. The 
veins vary in thickness from ten to seventeen inches of solid coal. The most perfect 
opening I saw exhibited three veins, alternating with slate, making together eight 
feet in depth, from the top of the upper to the bottom of the lower vein— some four 
or five feet of which will, I think, when the drift is carried farther into the hill, prove to 
be good coal. It is bituminous, and of a fair quality. Bog iron ore of an excel- 
lent quality is found in large quantities in the same region, and also limestone."* ** 
"From what I saw," concludes Mr. Mills, "I am induced to believe it will prove suffi- 
ciently abundant to work advantageously, and, with the improvement in question, 
must eventually contribute largely to the trade and importance of the Genesee Valley 
Canal." 

Police of the City and County. 

It is a fact worthy of particular notice, that, from the foundation of Rochester to 
the present time, no mob or tumult has occurred like those which have occasionally 
disgraced some other large towns. The general tranquillity of the city is noticed 
among the remarks of one of the mayors, whose office included a period of much ex- 
citement on the abolition and other questions— excitement which elsewhere led to 
frequent riots. Although Monroe holds nearly the same rank among the counties that 
Rochester does among the cities of the State, no capital conviction has ever yet taken 
place within its limits; and, notwithstanding the two acts which have unhappily 
marked the last few months (the murder of Mr. Lyman and the outrage on Captain 
Gage), the annals of few communities present pages less blackened by crime. May 
we not be backward in employing the means which prosperity places within our 
reach, for the prevention of crime and the eradication of vice — for the advancement of 
intellectual and moral culture ! 

A city night-watch has been maintained for some years. Ariel Wentworth is the 
present police magistrate. 

Cemeteries. 
The arrangements for the dead furnish strong indications of the characteristics of 
the living. It is gratifying to find that in this matter, as in most other cases, the spirit 
of our people is shown in a favourable light. A tract of ground has been secured for 
the purposes of a cemetery on the east side of the river, on the southern line of the 
city, which will supersede the use of the present cemeteries. The tract contains 
about fifty acres, and includes some high grounds which overlook the city and its vi- 
cinity for many miles. The land is varied by hill and valley, and has an abundance 
of trees and shrubbery, which may be trimmed so as to make beautiful shade. With 
an edifice erected on the highest summit, to serve as a chapel partly and partly as an 
observatory, this cemetery would soon become a resort for those who wish to withdraw 
occasionally from worldly bustle to meditate on their own condition and on their past 
relations with the dead. From the spirit manifested by the citizens, it cannot be 
doubted that the new cemetery of Rochester will soon be arranged with a degree of 
taste which may render it an object as interesting to our citizens as Mount Auburn Is 
to the people of Boston. 



FINE ARTS. *383 

Miscellaneous Notices — Artists, etc. 
First settlers and first settlements are characterized by works of necessity rather 
than of ornament. Manifestations of taste and liberality in reference to the Fine 
Arts are, however, increasing in Rochester in a ratio commensurate with the pros- 
perity of the citizens. The architecture of our churches and other public buildings, 
as well as that of many of the private edifices, is generally creditable to the taste 
of the inhabitants, as well as to the skill of the builders. 

On the death of De Witt Clinton, the Franklin Institute raised a subscription to 
procure a full-length portrait of the lamented statesman. Catlin, who has since ren- 
dered himself conspicuous by his works among the Indians, was the artist selected 
for the task. The painting, copied from a likeness taken by the same artist lor the 
corporation of New- York, was sent to Rochester in charge of his brother, whose 
untimely fate at a romantic spot is elsewhere mentioned in this volume. The In- 
stitute having met with some difficulties, the property was disposed of, and the por- 
trait of Clinton fell into the hands of Elisha Johnson, the present mayor, who, we 
doubt not, would cheerfully do all that could be expected reasonably from an indi- 
vidual in rendering the painting the property of some public institution. Might not a 
subscription be raised to secure for the public this interesting memorial of departed 
greatness 1 

The traveller who has ever sojourned at the Clinton House of Rochester while Ma- 
thies was landlord cannot have forgotten the portrait of the Red Chieftain which ar- 
rested his attention on entering the parlour of that hotel. The striking physiognomy, 
the piercing eye, the peculiar medallion on the breast, might well have excited in- 
quiry ; and had the inquirer met with any who had known the original, he would 
doubtless have been assured that it was a capital likeness of Saguaha or Red Jacket, 
that noble Seneca, whose wisdom, eloquence, and patriotism are worthy of higher 
fame than will probably crown the champion of a decaying race. Mr. Mathies de- 
voted considerable time and employed much persuasion to induce the old chief to 
permit a portrait to be taken. Mr. Mathies was a person of eccentric genius, who oc- 
casionally seized the pallet, and devoted himself for some weeks or months to a pur- 
suit in which some such pieces as this bear evidence of his ability. It may be ques- 
tioned whether any other artist ever enjoyed such facilities for sketching accurately 
the lineaments of the great chief. The picture is now owned by Ur. John B. Elwood. 
The portrait of Vincent Mathews, painted by request of the junior members of the 
Rochester bar, was executed by Daniel Steele, formerly of this city. It hangs in the 
courthouse. The miniature portraits of General Mathews and Colonel Rochester, 
drawn tor engravings to be placed in the Sketches of Rochester, were painted by 
V. Fason Shaver, who has just returned to the city after practising during the 
winter in the National Academy at New-York. The portrait of General Mathews 
was drawn from life ; that of Colonel Rochester from a painting made by Harding a 
few years before Col. R's. death. Where there are so many hundreds whose ac- 
quaintance with the subjects enables them to judge of the correctness of the portraits, 
it is needless to use many words in commending the fidelity of the artist. 

A portrait of Jesse Hawley was drawn by G. S. Gilbert of Rochester for presentation 
by Mr. Hawley himself to the New- York Historical Society, to be preserved by that 
body in connexion with his early writings on the policy of the Erie Canal. 

John T. Young is the artist who has sketched for us the various scenes and edi- 
fices represented by forty-two engravings in this volume. To those who are ac- 
quainted with the aspect of things at Rochester, it is needless to say that his drawings 
are remarkable for accuracy. Mr. Young drew some large-sized sketches of scenery at 
Rochester— the Middle and Lower Falls, &c— which were published a couple of 
years ago by C. and M. Morse, booksellers, and which form appropriate ornaments 
for the parlours of our citizens. As a landscape-drawer, Mr. Young has a very 
respectable rank in his profession, and should be aided by a liberal patronage. There 
are many scenes in and around the city which might be depicted by him in such way 
as would embellish the walls of the best finished houses ; and we hope to see our 
wealthy citizens evince their taste by encouraging art in this way. 

Probably the earliest artist who attempted to settle on the banks of the Genesee 
was a son of the celebrated Benjamin West, President of the British Royal Academy, 
of whom Dunlap relates a few particulars in his History of the Arts of Design. 

" In 1810 Raphael West, son of Benjamin West, visited America, to improve wild 
lands ; and although he did not exert his talents as a painter for the public, or exhibit 
, any pictures during his stay, his taste had influence on the arts of the country— for the 
leaven cannot be mingled with the lump and produce no effect ; and the drawings 
he brought with him, and those executed during his residence at Big-tree (between 
Geneseo and Moscow), and communicated or presented to his friends, must be con- 
sidered as swelling the tide of western art by a copious though transient shower. 
Disappointed, discouraged, and homesick, Raphael gladly broke from the Big-tree 
prison, to return to the paternal home in Newman-street. On his way he visited me 



334* 



SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 



in New-York. His atiger was kindled against Wadsworth, who, like a true American , 
saw in the wilderness the paradise which was to grow up and bloom there, but which 
was invisible to the London painter, and, if possible, still more so to his London wife. 
• Would you believe it, Dunlap 1 as I sat drawing by a lower window, up marched a 
bear, as if to take a lesson !' " 

Falls of the Genesee — Fate of Catlin. 
The ill-fated career of Catun should not be left unnoticed in connexion with the 
Falls of the Genesee at Rochester, particularly as it was admiration of those cata- 
racts which occasioned his untimely fate. He was literally a martyr to his love of 
Nature, and expired amid a scene which his perceptions of the "sublime and beauti- 
ful" caused him to appreciate with an enthusiasm akin to that which has since se- 
cured well-deserved celebrity for his brother, the unrivalled picturer of the character 
and appearance of the Red Men of the West. 

Admiration of the worth and services of De Witt Clinton caused the Franklin 
Institute of Rochester to propose a subscription among the citizens for securing a 
portrait of that statesman. Catlin was the artist selected lor the task, which he ac- 
complished before starting on his memorable seven years' tour among the wild scenes 
and wilder men of the West. The painting was brought to Rochester by the brother 
of whose fate we now speak. 

A beautiful morning tempted young Catlin to saunter along the banks of the river 
to the Lower Falls. The water was at that stage whereat those falls appear most 
beautiful. The young artist (for, though a graduate of West Point, he had adopted 
the profession of his elder brother) descended the precipitous banks for the purpose of 
admiring the scenery from the margin of the river below the falls, where the Genesee 
assumes the level of the waters of Lake Ontario. The view of the cataract and of 
the high banks between which the river has worn its passage is beautiful indeed. 
After admiring the scenes presented by some curves in the river-banks, the young 
artist returned close to the fall. Here he went into the river to bathe, or perhaps to 
get a view of the cataract from the centre of the river or the west side. But a short 
shrill cry of agony soon warned a fisherman that the swimmer was in peril— and the 
enthusiastic artist sunk to rise no more with life ! 

The suspicions of foul play entertained against the fisherman — the only spectator 
of the tragedy — were dispelled promptly by the consequent investigation; and the 
belief prevailed that death resulted from cramp. 

Among those who were associated with the writer in discharging the last duties to 
the dead, was one whose pen produced some lines upon the melancholy event. In 
quoting a passage, we hope to be excused for naming the author, H^.iTio Gates 
Warner, now of Chittenango. 

" Methought, while o'er his bier the many gazed, 

Who knew but of his name, nor friends nor home, 

Who lent a hand in Christian charity 

To give the stranger all that friends can hope — 

Methought upon the loved of him who found 

A watery death, untimely, sad, and strange — 

Perhaps, while o'er that bosom falls the earth, 

The rattling earth that hides our every gaze, 

A mother softly heaves a prayer to Heaven 

To guard from dangerous chance her absent son : 

Perhaps, while not a teardrop falls upon 

The turf that shields a once-fond brother's heart, 

Some boding spirit steals a sister's sigh, 

And midnight dreams the slumbers haunt of Love 

Perhaps, while strangers chant the hymn of death, 

In him their dearest hopes are full and high: 

On Fame's broad roll, in Fancy's ken, they see 

Engraved his name with such as live in death — 

With Hogarth, Holbein, Raphael, Angelo — 

And feel the joy that Genius wins from Fame. 
Oh ! it is bliss to feed upon the hopes 

That worth and talents wake for those we love ! 

There is no joy that warms a parent's bosom 

That is of purer, heavenlier glow than this ! 

And ah ! no ills of life that sicken souls— 

That crush the spirit when it seems most bless'd, 

And on the dearest hopes cast deadliest blight, 

Rolls Sorrow's cloud more chilly, deeply dark, 

Than when we thus must mourn the wither'd bud 

Of Genius cropp'd by rude and unlook'd Fate- 
Denied the boon to close his dying eyes, 

Or pour our gushing sorrow o'er his grave !" 



CARTHAGE BRIDGE AND IRONDEQUOIT BAY. *385 

Carthage Bridge. 

As this was one of the boldest feats in bridge building— remarkable in its fate as in 
its construction— some account of the structure may not be uninteresting to the in- 
quirer after the u Antiquities" of Rochester. The bridge derived its name from a vil- 
lage allotment now included in the northern part of the City of Rochester. It crossed 
the river between the Lower Falls of the Genesee and the Ontario Steamboat-Land- 
ing, at a point where the precipitous and rocky banks are upward of two hundred feet 
above the surface of the river, there nearly corresponding with the level of Lake Ontario. 

This bridge was built by an association of gentlemen interested in property on the 
east bank of the river, in 1818-19, in the village allotment formerly known as Car- 
thage. In this association were included Elisha B. Strong, Levi H. Clarke, and 
Heman Norton, the two latter now residing in the City of New- York. The boldness 
of the enterprise causes the insertion here of the names of the architects — Brainerd 
and Chapman — as well as of the projectors. 

" The bridge was completed in February, 1819," said the account of Rochester and 
its vicinity in 1827. "It consisted of an entire arch, the chord of which was 352 feet, 
and the versed sine 54 feeL The summit of the arch was 196 feet above the surface 
of the water. The entire length of the bridge was 718 feet, and the width 30 feet— 
besides four large elbow braces, placed at the extremities of the arch, and projecting 
15 feet on each side of it. 

" The arch consisted of nine ribs, two feet four inches thick, connected by braced 
levellers above and below, and secured by 800 strong iron bolts. The feet of the 
arch rested upon the solid rock, about 60 feet below the surface of the upper bank. 
Soon after the completion of the bridge, loaded wagons with more than thirteen tons 
weight passed over it without producing any perceptible tremour. It contained about 
70,000 feet of timber, running measure, besides 64,620 feet of board measure. It was 
built in the first place upon a Gothic arch, the vertex of which was about 20 feet be- 
low the floor of the bridge, and was, in point of mechanical ingenuity, as great a 
curiosity as the bridge itself. 

" The famous bridge at Schaffhausen, in Switzerland, which stood for fifty years 
the pride of the eastern world, was but twelve feet longer span than the Carthage- 
Bridge (in what is now the City of Rochester). The most lofty single arch at pres- 
ent in Europe is 116 feet less in length than this was, and the arch not as high by 
96 feet. 

" This daring work, which reflected so much credit on the enterprise of the pro- 
jectors and the ingenuity of the builders, stood but about one year [one year and one 
day, which latter period saved the builders from the loss, as they guarantied that the 
structure would endure one year]. The immense weight of timber, pressing une- 
qually upon the arch, threw up the centre from its equilibrium, and the whole tum- 
bled into ruins," save a small portion of the framework on the eastern bank, which 
is represented in the engraving of the Lower Falls, but which has recently fallen to 
the earth, its few decayed timbers forming now the principal memorial on the spot of 
the existence of the remarkable fabric. 

This bridge was of much importance to the settlements on the banks of the Gen- 
esee River, within a short distance of the celebrated Rridge Road— the two points of 
which, broken by the river, might be said to be connected by it. 

The scenery around this place is picturesque and sublime — being within view of 
two waterfalls of the Genesee, which have upward of one hundred feet descent. 

A view of this bridge, as it appeared at its aerial height apparently almost spanning 
the cataracts beside it, was sketched by Gen. John A. Dix, the present secretary of 
this state, while travelling in this region in 1819. The lateness of the period at which 
the view came into our possession prevented the preparation of an engraving from it 
for this work. The time is probably not far distant when the erection of a suspen- 
sion bridge at this romantic spot will form a more enduring (though not more re- 
markable) monument of enterprise than the original structure — when the traveller 
making the " fashionable tour" may note this scene as worthy of attention in common 
even with the projected bridge at Lewiston across the Niagara. 

Irondequoit Bay — Historical Recollections, etc. 

This bay, well known in the early history of the country, is now wholly unfitted 
for navigation, owing to the sandbar formed at its junction with Lake Ontario. It is 
now much frequented by parties from Rochester for gunning, fishing, &,c. The ge- 
ologist also has many attractions for a visit thither; for " on the borders of the bay, 
and of the creek of the same name which discharges itself there, the surface of the 
earth presents a most extraordinary and picturesque appearance— a multitude of con- 
ical or irregular mounds of sand and light earth, sometimes insulated and sometimes 
united, rising to an average height of 200 feet from a perfectly level meadow of the 
richest alluvial loam." 

33 



386* SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

The history of Irondequoit is intimately connected with that of the Military and Tra- 
ding Posts of Western New- York. A station was established there in 1726, to aid 
the British in securing the trade with the Western Indians, to the exclusion of the 
French at the lower end of Lake Ontario. 

In connexion with the fact that there was a city laid out at Trondequoit Bay, it might 
he mentioned that formerly supplies from New-York, destined for our western posts, 
were sent to the head of that bay (instead of the Genesee River), there freighted in 
batteaux, to proceed through Lake Ontario to Niagara River— thence to be taken 
across the portage to Fort Schlosser; and there re-embarked to proceed up the Niag- 
ara River, through Lake Erie, &c. The city was laid out at the head of the bay, near 
the route of the present road between Canandaigua and Rochester. 

It may amuse some readers to learn that Maude, a traveller in 1800, mentions that 
the cargo of a schooner which sailed from Genesee River for Kingston, Upper Canada, 
had " been sent from Canandarqua for Rundicut Bay, and from thence in boats round 
about to Genesee River Landing," for shipment in the above schooner. [The cargo 
thus circuitously forwarded from Canandaigua was potash — and " nb potash was 
then made about Irondequoit or Genesee Landings for want of kettles" in 1800.] 

The mouth of Irondequoit is altout four miles eastward of Genesee River on Lake 
Ontario ; and the bay extends southwardly about five miles, nearly to the present 
main -travelled route through Brighton between Rochester and Canandaigua. 

" The Teoronto Bay of Lake Ontario," says Spafford, " merits more particular 
notice, if for no other purpose than to speak of Gerundegut, Irondequoit, and Rundi- 
cut— names by which it is also known. The Indians called it ' Teoronto'— a sono- 
rous and purely Indian name, too good to be supplanted by such vulgarisms as Gerun- 
degut or Irondequoit ! The bay is about five miles long and one mile wide, commu- 
nicating with the lake by a very narrow opening— or such it used to have— and Teo- 
ronto, or Tche-o-ron-tok, perhaps rather nearer the Indian pronunciation, is the place 
where the waves breathe and die, or gasp and expire. Let a person of as much dis- 
cernment as these savages watch the motion of the waves in this bay, and he will 
admire the aptitude of its name, and never again pronounce Gerundegut, Irondequoit, 
or Rundicut." 

Irondequoit Embankment. 

One of the greatest curiosities connected with the internal improvements of the 
state is the great embankment for conducting the Erie Canal across the valley of 
Irondequoit Creek, a few miles southward of the junction of that creek with the head 
of the bay of the same name. The embankment, under which the creek proceeds 
through a large culvert, is about 1500 feet long and about 80 feet high above the 
waters of the creek. 

This great work, which will be rendered still more wonderful by the increased 
dimensions consequent on enlarging the canal, is about ten miles eastward of Ro- 
chester. The falls of the Irondequoit Creek afford some valuable hydraulic privileges 
here and at the village of Penfield. 

First Oxen used in the Genesee Valley — Tragical Circumstances 
connected with their Capture. 

In connexion with these historical matters, we may notice some facts respecting 
the achievements of our Genesee Indians. The circumstances connected with the 
first oxen used in the Genesee Valley rank among the most tragical incidents in the 
history of the country. Singular as it may seem, the capture of those cattle from the 
British by the Senecas was one of the results of the conspiracy formed by the great 
Ottawa chief Pontiac for combining the northern and western tribes in a simultane- 
ous movement for destroying the power of the white man by suddenly capturing the 
British posts throughout the immense extent of inland frontier. This was in 1763, 
after the close of the war between the French and British, in which the former sur- 
rendered to the latter their Canadian possessions and various forts like those of 
Niagara, Detroit, Michillimackinac, &c. The sagacious and warlike spirit of Pontiac 
was eminently displayed in this wide-spread conspiracy, which embraced most of the 
northern and western tribes, including part of the Six Nations, whose partial temporary 
disaffection to the British was previously manifested by the junction of the Senecas par- 
ticularly as allies with the French. Most of the forts on the northwestern frontiers 
were captured by Indians of the various combined tribes ; Fort Pitt (now Pittsburg), 
Detroit, and Niagara alone being saved from the savages. Farmer's Brother, who 
was friendly to Phelps and others of our early settlers, was the chief of the Senecas 
that destroyed the British force at the Devil's Hole on the Niagara, where were cap- 
tured the oxen that were brought to the Genesee Flats, &c. The circumstances of 
this bloody tragedy were these : Sir William Johnson employed William Stedman to 
cut a portage road around Niagara Falls, from Fort Niagara at Lake Ontario to Fort 
Schlosser above the falls. The road was completed in June, 1763. Although this 



*387 

was a little before the period fixed for surprising the British garrisons, the Senecas, 
under their chief, Farmer's Brother, seized the opportunity to cut off a detachment 
sent to convoy the military stores which Stedman had contracted to transport by 
teams from the vessels on Lake Ontario at Fort Niagara to the vessels at Schlosser 
which were to take those warlike munitions to the posts on Lake Erie and the upper 
lakes. The soldiers and teamsters were ninety-six in number ; and so unconscious 
were they of danger that the latter were gayly whistling and singing alongside their 
teams, when the warwhoop of the Senecas was instantaneously followed by a rush of 
savages, which suddenly swept into eternity all but four persons of the ninety-six 
who formed the convoy. Stedman escaped on horseback ; and the other three jumped 
off the awful precipice, where so many of their comrades had been driven half mur- 
dered by the Indians. These three escaped, but were severely wounded ; one of them 
having been caught by his drumstrap in a branch of a tree. The drum floating down 
the river, furnished the garrison of Fort Niagara with the first intelligence of the ca- 
lamity, and produced among them a degree of vigilance which preserved the fort 
from being surprised, as most of the garrisons on the frontier were immediately after. 
The Senecas became reconciled to the British soon after by a treaty with Sir William 
Johnson, and in the revolutionary war sided with the royalists. Farmer's Brother was 
highly esteemed by our early settlers, and was less unfriendly to the whites generally 
than his contemporary Red Jacket. Stedman had bestowed upon him by ihe Senecas a 
large piece of land at the scene of this awful tragedy ; the gratuity resulting from a 
superstitious belief of the Indians that he Avas a favourite of the Great Spirit, as other- 
wise he could not, they supposed, have escaped the balls which they sent whistling 
around him when they fired from their ambuscade. Such is an outline of the bloody 
scene from which the first oxen ever used on the Genesee Flats were borne off with 
other plunder by the Seneca warriors. 

The Ridge Road. 

The Ridge Road, which forms such an excellent highway on the southern shore of 
Lake Ontario, furnishes not merely an admirable convenience for the traveller, but a 
fruitful source of speculation to the geologist and antiquarian. It is probably the 
most remarkable natural road in the world ; and its conformation and other circum- 
stances are important links in the chain of evidence respecting the ancient height of 
Lake Ontario and the mysterious people by whom this land was occupied before the 
present race of red men acquired possession. 

As this ridge runs eastward and westward near the north line of the City of Ro- 
chester ; as it is travelled by multitudes particularly between Rochester and Niagara 
River, some information respecting it may not be considered irrelevant now. The 
acute perception and philosophic mind of De Witt Clinton have invested this 
ridge with a degree of interest usually imparted to all topics subjected to their scru- 
tiny. His remarks may be found in the Appendix, page 380-1 ; and, in connexion 
with them, we recommend the reader to examine the interesting remarks of Professor 
Dewey in the Geological Sketches, pages 81-2-3. 

BraddocWs Bay. 

It is rather amusing in these times to notice how prominently Braddock's Bay 
figured as a landing-place before Rochester was known. " The nearest ports to the 
Genesee River," says a traveller who wrote in 1800, " are Rundicut Bay, five miles 
to the east, and Bradloe Bay, thirteen miles to the west. The first, is situate on a 
creek, the channel of which is difficult to be discerned in the marsh through which it 
takes its tortuous course ; and from the shallowness of the water it is obliged to send 
its produce to the Genesee River in batteaux. Four or five families are settled at 
Rundicut, but Bradloe is abetter situation, and a more flourishing settlement." 

Braddock's Bay is the name now commonly used, but the place is designated in 
accounts of former years as Prideaux Bay, as well as Bradloe Bay. We imagine 
that Prideaux was the name, and that it was given by or in honour of that General 
Prideaux who was killed at the head of the British army when assailing the French 
at Fort Niagara in 1759, where he was succeeded in the command by Sir William 
Johnson, to whom the French surrendered that fort. 

Like Irondequoit Bay, Braddock's is now much frequented by anglers and gunners 
from Rochester and the surrounding country, as fish and game are in considerable 
abundance. 

Hartford's Landing. 
This is the name of a small settlement between Rochester and Lake Ontario, on 
the west bank of the Genesee River. It is a short distance from the point where 
<l the ridge," running eastward and westward, is broken through by the ravine formed 
by the course of the river running northwardly. 



388* SKETCHES OF ROCHESTER, ETC. 

' A settlement was formed here in 1796. In 1800 the English traveller Mande men- 
tions that, as he could not find any accommodations for refreshment—" not even a 
stable for his horse"— at the place where the City of Rochester has since sprung into 
existence, he " was obliged to proceed to Gideon King's, at the Genesee Landing, 
where [he] got a good breakfast on wild-pigeons. Mr. King is the only respectable 
settler in this township (No. 1, short range), in which there are at present twelve fami- 
lies, four of whom have established themselves at the Landing. King, though the pro- 
prietor of 3000 acres, lives in an indifferent loghouse ; one reason for this is, that he has 
not been able to procure boards. The Landing is the port from whence all the shipments 
of the Genesee River must be made; but further improvements are much checked in 
consequence of the titles to the lands being in dispute. The circumstances are as 
follow : Mr. Phelps sold 3000 acres in this neighbourhood to Zadok Granger for about 
$10,000, the payment being secured by a mortgage on the land. Granger died soon 
after his removal here ; and having sold part of the land, the residue would not clear 
the mortgage, which prevented his heirs from administering on his estate. Phelps 
foreclosed the mortgage and entered on possession, even on that part which had been 
already sold and improved. Some settlers, in consequence, left their farms — oth- 
ers repaid the purchase money — and others, again, are endeavouring to make some 
accommodation with Mr. Phelps. A son of Mr. Granger resides here, and Mr. 
Greaves, his nephew, became also a settler, erected the frame of a good house, and 
died. The Landing is at present an unhealthy residence, but when the woods get more 
opened it will no doubt become as healthy as any other part of the Genesee country. 
I went to see the new store and wharf. It is very difficult to get goods conveyed to 
and from the wharf, in consequence of the great height and steepness of the bank." 

As illustrative of the condition of things in the way of roads as well as navigable 
facilities, we may note a remark of the traveller, that "yesterday, Aug. 18, 1800, a 
schooner of forty tons sailed from this Landing for Kingston, U. C, laden with pot- 
ash, which had been sent from Canandarqua to Rundicut Bay, and from thence round 
about in boats to this (Genesee) Landing.'' 

" This Landing," adds Maude, " is four miles from the mouth of the river, where 
two log-huts are built at its entrance into Lake Ontario. [See ' Charlotte,' as the 
village now at the junction of river and lake is called.] At this Landing the chan- 
nel runs close along shore, and has thirty feet depth ; but upon the bar at the mouth 
of the river the water shoals to sixteen or eighteen feet. [See account of the Har- 
bour of Rochester.] This place is about equally distant from the eastern and western 
limits of Lake Ontario, and opposite to its centre and widest parts, being here about 
eighty [sixty] miles across.'' 

"In January, 1810, Frederic Hanford opened a store of goods at what was called 
the Upper Landing or Falltown— the name of Genesee Landing was no longer strictly 
applicable, as another Landing had been established at the junction of the river and 
lake, at the village called Charlotte. Hanford's was the first merchant's store on the 
river between Avon and Lake Ontario — a distance of about twenty-five miles. Hence 
the place has since been termed " Hanford's Landing." 

In the same year Silas O. Smith opened a store at Hanford's Landing, but in 1813 
removed to the new village of Rochester, where he built the first merchant's store ; 
the plat of Rochester having been planned only the previous season. 

As at the present Steamboat- Landing on the river at the north part of the City of 
Rochester, railways were used to facilitate the transit of freight between the top of 
the bank at Hanford's Landing and the warehouses or vessels on the margin of the 
river. The railway, the warehouses, and the wharves at Hanford's were burned in 
1835. 

Charlotte. 

This is the name of a village situate on the west bank of the Genesee River, at the 
junction of that stream with Lake Ontario. It is about five miles north of the nor- 
therly bounds of the City of Rochester. In 1810, pursuant to projects for connecting 
the trade of the lakes with that of the Susquehanna, &c, a state-road was laid out from 
Charlotte to Arkport. In that year, Jonathan Child and Benjamin H. Gardiner, who 
had a store in Bloomfield, established another at Charlotte, but soon discontinued it. 

Frederic Bushnell and Samuel Latta soon afterward commenced, and long continued 
mercantile business in Charlotte. In 1822 a lighthouse was built by the United 
States, and the entrance of the river has been much improved for navigation by the 
piers constructed under liberal appropriations from the same source. (See account 
of the Harbour of Rochester.) During the last war with Great Britain, Charlotte 
was not unfrequently visited by the British fleet— a notice of one of which visits is 
included in the article on the " Effects of the Last War upon the Prosperity of Ro- 
chester." The place was named after a daughter of Colonel Troup, former "agent of 
the Pulteney Estate. 



APPENDIX. 



THE RECENT INDIAN OCCUPANTS OF WESTERN NEW-YORK. 

The frequent references in this work to the Iroquois or 
Six Nations may render some farther particulars acceptable 
to the generality of readers. The history of that remarkable 
confederacy is unsurpassed in interest by that of any similar 
people in any age or country. Those who might have been 
inclined to smile at the comparison in some respects between 
the Six Nations and the Greeks and Romans (p. 105), are 
referred to the testimony of Clinton and Dwight on the char- 
acteristics of the savages (as they are called) thus named in 
connexion with two of the most remarkable nations of an- 
tiquity. M The Iroquois have certainly been a very extraor- 
dinary people," said President Dwight. " Had they enjoyed 
the advantages possessed by the Greeks and Romans, there 
is no reason to believe they would be at all inferior to these 
celebrated nations. Their minds appear to have been equal 
to any efforts within the reach of man. Their conquests, if 
we consider their numbers and their circumstances, were 
little inferior to those of Rome itself. In their harmony, the 
unity of their operations, the energy of their character, the 
vastness, vigour, and success of their enterprises, and the 
strength and sublimity of their eloquence, they may be fairly 
compared with the Greeks. Both the Greeks and the Ro- 
mans, before they began to rise into distinction, had already 
reached the state of society in which men are able to improve. 
The Iroquois had not. The Greeks and Romans had ample 
means for improvement : the Iroquois had none." 

As a knowledge of the history and character of the Six 
Nations will be found particularly interesting in connexion 
with the arrangements which we have noticed for the extinc- 
tion of their claims upon Western New-York, the discourse 
delivered by De Witt Clinton upon the subject is placed in 
this Appendix. We had partly prepared a sketch of the 
history of the confederacy, when this discourse met our 

29 



338 APPENDIX. 

view ; and as our examinations of the subject served but to 
increase our admiration of the manner in which it was handled 
by Mr. Clinton, we determined to present his essay in pref- 
erence to the briefer statement which we had contemplated. 
The account of Mr. Clinton, besides its intrinsic merits, 
will have for most readers the additional charm of novelty ; 
for, though dated in 1811, it has not been published in a 
manner accessible to the people generally of Western New- 
York — certainly not to the citizens of Rochester, anterior to 
the origin of whose city it was delivered. Though composed 
before Mr. Clinton attained much of that celebrity which 
forms an important item in the " moral property" of his 
countrymen, the discourse will be found nowise unworthy of 
his fame. 

The recent treaty for the removal westward of the shat- 
tered fragments of the Six Nations will doubtless quicken 
the interest now awakening to the researches respecting the 
career of those tribes. The antiquarian may find in their 
history and in the ancient ruins indicating the preoccupancy 
of their country by other people, much food for contempla- 
tion in connexion with the wonderful discoveries in Central 
America. 

" The parallel between the people of America and Asia 
affords this important conclusion," said Dr. Mitchili ; " that 
on both continents the hordes dwelling in higher latitudes 
have overpowered the more civilized, though feebler, inhab- 
itants of the countries situate towards the equator. As the 
Tartars have overrun China, so the Aztecs have subdued 
Mexico ; as the Huns and Alains desolated Italy, so the 
Chippewas and Iroquois destroyed the populous settlements 
on both banks of the Ohio, &e. The surviving race in these 
terrible conflicts between the different nations of the ancient 
residents of North America is evidently that of Tartars, 
from the similarity of features, language, customs, &c. 
Think," adds Dr. Mitchili, " what a memorable spot is our 
Onondaga, where men of the Malay race from the south- 
west, of the Tartar blood from the northwest, and of the 
Gothic stock from the northeast, have successively contended 
for the supremacy and rule, and which may be considered 
as having been possessed by each long enough before Co- 
lumbus made his world-seeking voyages." 

The conquests of the Iroquois were not limited by the 
Ohio, as might be inferred from the foregoing ; for a Seneca 






THE SIX NATIONS. 339 

warrior, whose ancient relict but recently expired, was in his 
youth engaged in expeditions against the Cherokees and 
other tribes as far south as Mobile River, in one of which 
forays the Catawba tribe was almost exterminated by the 
warlike tribes from Western New- York. (Vide note A.) 
How interesting such facts become when considered in con- 
nexion with the ancient condition of this continent, which, 
though commonly called the New World, bears in its cen- 
tral regions stupendous monuments of a people whose an- 
tiquity irresistibly impels us to comparisons with the Egyp- 
tians and the Israelites of old. Voluminous and splendid 
works are now issuing from the European press, displaying 
the interest awakened abroad with reference- to this subject. 
Some of the prominent periodical publications of Europe, as 
well as this country, have embarked earnestly in the investi- 
gation. Criticising the theory ingeniously supported by a 
British antiquarian, the Foreign Quarterly Review declares 
that " Lord Kingsborough's startling supposition that the 
great temple of Palenque [in Central America] and the tem- 
ple of Solomon were built after the same model, has more 
truth in it than would at first sight appear. There exists, 
in fact, a strong resemblance between some of the details of 
both : and the resemblance arises from there being one Syr- 
iac model for both. If his lordship had merely argued for 
the similarity of the ground-plan of both, we should have 
been prompted to concur with his inference. We will go 
further, and say that the model of the final Jewish temple 
which Ezekiel describes as a future point of reunion for the 
whole restored and united Jewish family — and which either 
imitates or supercedes that of Solomon — is almost precisely 
like the model of the temple of Palenque — as like, in many 
respects, as anticipative description can be supposed to coin- 
cide with an extant exhibition of the same model !" The 
foreign reviewer observes elsewhere — " The tradition of the 
Mexican or Azteque race (for their identity is seemingly es- 
tablished) is, that they came from the regions of North 
America — that, after an interrupted progress of many years, 
they reached the central district which they occupied at the 
time of the Spanish conquest, where they subdued the Tul- 
teques ; and all the evidences to be collected from their cu- 
rious records tend to substantiate the truth of their assertion. 
It is therefore extremely probable (and it exhibits a singular 
coincidence between the history of the New and the Old 



340 APPENDIX. 

World) that savage tribes- descending from the same nor- 
thern regions of Asiatic Scythia, whence all barbarian ir- 
ruptions have proceeded, and traversing Behring's Straits, 
pressed downward in America, as they did in Europe and 
Asia from time immemorial, upon the tempting seats of 
southern civilization, and, expelling the occupants by con- 
quest, established themselves in their room. The picture- 
writings of the Azteques exhibit the whole progress of this 
barbarous irruption, from the time when, like the present 
arctic savages, armed with fishbone spears and clothed in 
skins, they commenced the long vicissitudes of their aggres- 
sive march, down to the time when, invested with a more 
civilized costume and panoplied in complete suits of armour, 
with the dentated clubs and condor-visored helmets, pecu- 
liar to them, they are seen successively vanquishing the re- 
sistance, burning the temples, and storming the fortresses of 
the Central Americans." 

When the subject is viewed in this interesting light, we 
think we may be pardoned for the space devoted to consid- 
erations on the former occupants and the existing antiquities 
of Western New-York. Well might the American Quar- 
terly Review exclaim (in 1828) with reference to such re- 
searches — "There is a strange and mysterious interest 
awakened whenever we inquire into the history of bygone 
ages. Darkness and doubt enveloping their annals, serve 
only to render our curiosity more intense ; and we eagerly 
catch at the most insignificant monuments or remains of peo- 
ple that have passed from the face of the earth, in the hopes 
of being by them enabled to pierce the opaque medium 
which obscures their annals. As the interval of time that 
separates our epoch from theirs increases, so also increases 
the ardour of inquiry ; and thus we find ourselves more and 
more powerfully attracted, as we proceed step by step to 
consider the mouldering tombs of the fathers of cur own na- 
tion ; the remains of rude art and of savage tribes that pre- 
ceded them in their occupation of this country ; the mounds, 
the pyramids, and other traces of a more civilized race of 
yet earlier date ; and the more perfect relics of the power, 
the arts, and, we may almost venture to say, the science of 
the Aztecs." 

But we will no longer detain the reader from that which 
will interest him far more than any speculations which we 
could offer. The theory is particularly worthy of note which 



THE SIX NATIONS. 341 

seizes the geological aspect of the Ridge Road as illustra- 
tive of the antiquities of western New- York. 

A Discourse on the History of the Six Nations, delivered 
by Be Witt Clinton, in 1811. 

There is a strong propensity in the human mind to trace 
up our ancestry to as high and as remote a source as possi- 
ble ; and if our pride and our ambition cannot be gratified 
by a real statement of facts, fable is substituted for truth, and 
the imagination is taxed to supply the deficiency. This 
principle of our nature, although liable to great perversion, 
and frequently the source of well-founded ridicule, may, if 
rightly directed, become the parent of great actions. 

The origin and progress of individuals, of families, and of 
nations, constitute Biography and History, two of the most 
interesting departments of human knowledge. 

Allied to this principle, springing from the same causes 
and producing the same benign effects, is that curiosity which 
we feel in tracing the history of the nations that have oc- 
cupied the same territory before us, although not connected 
with us in any other respect. " To abstract the mind from 
all local emotion," says an eminent moralist, " would be im- 
possible if it were endeavoured, and it would be foolish if it 
were possible " The places where great events have been 
performed — where great virtues have been exhibited — where 
great crimes have been perpetrated — will always excite 
kindred emotions of admiration or horror. And if " that 
man is little to be envied whose patriotism would not gain 
force upon the plains of Marathon, or whose piety would not 
grow warmer among the ruins of Iona," we may with equal 
confidence assert that morbid must be his sensibility and 
small must be his capacity for improvement who does not 
advance in wisdom and in virtue from contemplating the state 
and the history of the people who occupied this country be^ 
fore the man of Europe. 

As it is therefore not uninteresting, and is entirely suitable 
to this occasion, I shall present a general geographical, po- 
litical, and historical view of the red men who inhabited this 
state before us ; and this I do the more willingly, from a 
conviction that no part of America contained a people which 
will furnish more interesting information and more useful in^ 
struction — which will display the energies of the human 

29* 



342 APPENDIX. 

character in a more conspiauous manner, whether in light or 
in shade — in the exhibition of great virtues and talents, or of 
great vices and defects. 

In 1774* the government of Connecticut, in an official 
statement to the British secretary of state, represented the 
original title to the lands of Connecticut as in the Pequot 
nation of Indians, who were numerous and warlike ; that their 
great sachem, Sassacus, had under him twenty-six sachems ; 
and that their territory extended from Narraganset to Hud- 
son's River and over all Long Island. The Long Island In- 
dians, who are represented as very savage and ferocious, 
•were called Meilovvacks or Meitowacks, and the island itself 
Meitowacks.f The Mohucoris, Mahatons, or Manhattans, 
occupied New-York Island and Staten Island. The Mohe- 
gans, whose original name was Muhhekanew, were settled 
on that part of the state east of Hudson's River and below 
Albany ; and those Indians on the west bank, from its mouth 
to the Kaatskill Mountains, were sometimes denominated 
Wabingie and sometimes Sankikani ; and they and the Mo- 
hegansj went by the general appellation of River Indians ; 
or, according to the Dutch, Mohickanders. Whether the 
Mohegans were a distinct nation from the Pequots^ has 
been recently doubted, although they were formerly so con- 
sidered. One of the early historians asserts that the Nar- 
ragansets, a powerful nation in New-England, held domin- 
ion over part of Long Island. F 

The generic name adopted by the French for all the In- 
dians of New-England was Abenaquis ; and the country, 
from the head of Chesapeake Bay to the Kittatinney Mount- 
ains, as far eastward as the Abenaquis, and as far north- 
ward and westward as the Iroquois, was occupied by a na- 
tion denominated by themselves the Lenni-lenapi — by the 
French, Loups — and by the English, Delawares.|j Mr. 
Charles Thompson, formerly Secretary of Congress, sup-^ 
posed that this nation extended east of Hudson's River to 



* 7 vol. Collections of Massachusetts Hist. Society, p. 231. 

t Smith's History of New- York, p. 262. 

t Jefferson's Notes on Virginia, p. 310. 1 vol. Collections of the 
New-York Historical Society, p. 33, 34. Barton's Views of the Origin 
of the Indians, p, 31. Trumbull's History of the United States, p. 42. 

$ Trumbull's History of Connecticut, p. 28. 

% 1 vol. Massachusetts Historical Society, p. 144, &c. 

II Barton's Views, p. 25. Jefferson's Notes, p. 310, &c. 



THE SIX NATIONS. 343 

Connecticut River, and over Long Island, New-York Island, 
and Staten Island ; and Mr. Smith, in his History of New- 
York, says, that when the Dutch commenced the settlement 
of the country, all the Indians on Long Island and the nor- 
thern shore of the Sound, and on the banks of the Connecti- 
cut and Hudson River, were in subjection to and paid an 
annual tribute to the Five Nations.* Mr. Smith's statement, 
therefore, does not accord with this fact, nor with the al- 
leged dominion of the Pequots and Narragansets over 
Long Island. New-York was settled before Connecticut, 
and the supremacy of the Iroquois was never disturbed ; and it 
probably prevailed at one time over Long Island, over the 
territory as far east as Connecticut River, and over the In- 
dians on the west banks of the Hudson. The confusion on 
this subject has probably arisen from the same language be- 
ing used by the Delawares and Abenaquis ; but, indeed, it 
is not very important to ascertain to which of these nations 
the red inhabitants of that portion of the state may be prop- 
erly referred. They, in process of time, became subject to 
the Iroquois, and paid a tribute in wampum and shells.! 
Their general character and conduct to the first Europeans 
they probably had ever seen have been described in Hud- 
son's Voyoge up the North River. | And it is not a little 
remarkable that the natives below the Highlands were offen- 
sive and predatory, while those above rendered him every 
assistance and hospitality in their power. Of all these 
tribes, about nine or ten families remain on Long Island ; 
their principal settlement is on a tract of 1000 acres on 
Montauk Point. The Stockbridge Indians migrated from 
Hudson's River in 1734 to Stockbridge, in Massachusetts : 
from whence they removed about the year 1785 to lands as- 
signed them by the Oneidas in their territory. § The Broth- 
ertown Indians formerly resided in Narraganset, in Rhode 
Island, and in Farmington, Stonington, Mohegan, and some 

* It is certain that the Montacket Sachem, so called informer times, 
on the east end of Long Island, paid tribute in wampum to the con- 
federated colonies of Massachusetts, Plymouth, Connecticut, and New- 
Haven, for at least ten years previous to 1656. (2 Hazard's Collec- 
tions of State Papers, p. 361.) 

t Smith's History of New- York. Colden's History of the Five 
Nations. 

t Purchas's Pilgrims, vol. hi., p. 58. 1 vol. New- York Historical 
Collections, p. 102. 

§ 4 vol. Massachusetts Historical Society, p. 67, &c. 



344 APPENDIX. 

other towns in Connecticut* and are a remnant of the Muh- 
hekanew Indians, formerly called the Seven Tribes on the 
seacoast. They also inhabit lands presented to them by 
the Oneidas. These Indians and the Stockbridge In- 
dians, augmented in a small degree by migrations from the 
Long Island Indians, have formed two settlements, which, 
by an accurate census taken in 1794, contained 450 souls. 
But the greater part of the Indians below Albany retreated 
at an early period from the approach of civilized man, and 
became merged in the nations of the north and the west. As 
far back as 1687, just after the destruction of the Mohawk 
castles by the French, Gov. Dongan* advised the Five Na- 
tions to open a path for all the North Indians and Mohickan- 
ders that were among the Ottawas and other nations, and 
to use every endeavour to bring them home. 

The remaining and much the greatest part of the state 
was occupied by the Romans or this Western World,! 
who composed a federal republic, and were denominated by 
the English the Five Nations, the Six Nations, the Confed- 
erates — by the French, the Iroquois — by the Dutch, the 
Maquas or Mahaknase — by the southern Indians, the Mas- 
sawomacs — by themselves, the Mingos or Mingoians — and 
sometimes the Aganuschione or United People, and their 
confederacy they styled the Renunctioni.J 

The dwelling-lands of this confederacy were admirably 
adapted for convenience, for subsistence, and for conquest. 
They comprise the greatest body of the most fertile lands in 
North America ; and they are the most elevated grounds in the 
United States, from whence the waters run in every direc- 
tion. The Ohio, the Delaware, the Susquehannah, the 
Hudson, and the St. Lawrence — almost all the great rivers, 
besides a very considerable number of secondary ones, ori- 
ginate here, and are discharged into the Gulf of Mexico by 
the Mississippi River, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence by the 
St. Lawrence River, or into the Atlantic Ocean by various 
channels. Five great inland seas reach upward of 2000 

* Colden's Hist. Five Nations, vol. i., p. 85, &c. 

+ Volney's View of the United States, p. 470-476. 1 Colden's Five 
Nations, p. 4, 5. 

t 1 vol. Mass. Hist. Coll. p. 144, &c. 1 vol. Pownall on the Col- 
onies, p. 235. Smith's History of New- Jersey, p. 136. Morse's Gaz- 
eteer, title Six Nations. Jefferson's Virginia, p. 140. Smith's Hist. 
New-York, p. 4, 5. 



THE SIX NATIONS. 345 

miles through a considerable part of this territory, and af- 
ford an almost uninterrupted navigation to that extent. By 
these lakes and rivers the Confederates were enabled at 
all times and in all directions to carry war and destruc- 
tion among the surrounding and the most distant nations. 
And their country also abounds with other lakes, some 
of great size — Lake Champlain, formerly called the Sea 
of the Iroquois ; Lake George, the Saratoga, the One- 
ida, the Canadesaga or Seneca, the Cayuga, the Otsego, the 
Skaneatelas, the Canandaigua, the Cross, the Onondaga, 
the Otisco, the Owasco, the Crooked, the Conesus, the 
Hemlock, the Honeoye, the Chatauque, the Caniaderaga, 
and the Canasoraga — composing, in number and extent, with 
the five great lakes, the greatest mass of fresh water to be 
found in the world. 

In addition to the fertility of the soil, we may mention the 
mildness of the climate to the west of the Onondaga hills — 
the salubrity and the magnificent scenery of the country. 
The numerous waters were stored with the salmon, the trout, 
the muscalunge, the white fish, the shad, the rock-fish, the 
sturgeon, the perch, and other fish of various kinds ; and 
the forests abounded with an incredible number and variety 
of game. The situation of the inhabitants was rendered 
very eligible from these sources of subsistence, connected 
with a very productive soil ; for they had passed over the 
pastoral state, and followed agriculture as well as fishing 
and hunting. The selection of this country for a habitation 
was the wisest expedient that could have been adopted by a 
military nation to satiate their thirst for glory, and to extend 
their conquests over the continent; and if they preferred the 
arts of peace, there was none better calculated for this im- 
portant purpose. In a few days their forces could be seen 
— their power could be felt, at the mouth of the Ohio or the 
Missouri, on the waters of the Hudson or the St. Lawrence, 
or in the bays of Delaware or Chesapeake. 

It is not a little difficult to define the territorial limits of 
this extraordinary people,* for on this subject there are the 
most repugnant representations by the French and English 
writers, arising from interest, friendship, prejudice, and en- 

* Rogers's concise Account of North America, p. 6. J Colden, 37. 
1 Pownall on the Colonies, 235, &c. Smith's New- York, 58-179, &c. 
Douglass's Summary, 11, &c. PownalPs Geographical Description, 
&c. Charlevoix. Historie Generate de la Nouvelle France, &c, 



346 APPENDIX. 

mity. While the French, gn the one hand, were involved 
in continual hostility with them, the English, on the other 
hand, were connected by alliance and by commerce. By 
the 15th article of the treaty of Utrecht, concluded in 1713, 
it was stipulated " that the subjects of France inhabiting 
Canada and others shall hereafter give no hinderance or mo- 
lestation to the Five Nations or cantons subject to the do- 
minion of Great Britain."* As between France and Eng- 
land the Confederates were therefore to be considered as the 
subjects of the latter, and of course the British dominion 
was coextensive with the rightful territory of the Five Can- 
tons, it then became the policy of France to diminish and 
that of England to enlarge this territory. But, notwith- 
standing the confusion which has grown out of these clashing 
interests and contradictory representations, it is not perhaps 
very far from the truth to pronounce that the Five Na- 
tions were entitled by patrimony or conquest to all the ter- 
ritory in the United States and in Canada not occupied by 
the Creeks, the Cherokees, and the other southern Indians, 
by the Sioux, the Killisteneaux, and the Chippewas — and 
by the English and French, as far west as the Mississippi 
and Lake Winnipeg, as far northwest as the waters which 
unite this lake and Hudson's Bay, and as far north as Hud- 
son's Bay and Labrador. The Five Nations claim, says 
Smith, " all the land not sold to the English, from the mouth 
of Sorrel River, on the south side of Lakes Erie and Onta- 
rio, on both sides of the Ohio, till it falls into the Mississip- 
pi ; and on the north side of these lakes, that whole territory 
between the Ottawas River and Lake Huron, and even be- 
yond the straits between that and Lake Erie." The prin- 
cipal point of dispute between the English and French was, 
whether the dominion of the Confederates extended north of 
the great lakes : but I think it is evident that it did. It is 
admitted by several French writers that the Iroquois had 
several villages on the north side of Lake Ontario, and they 
are even laid down on the maps attached to Charlevoix ; and 
it cannot be denied but that they subdued the Hurons and 
Algonkins, who lived on that side of the great lakes, and, 
consequently, were entitled to their country by the rights of 
conquest. The true original name of the great river now 
called St. Lawrence was the River of the Iroquois — thereby 

* Chalmer's Collection of Treaties, vol. i., p. 382. 



THE SIX NATIONS. 347 

indicating that they occupied a considerable portion at least of 
its banks. Douglass estimates their territory as about 1200 
miles in length from north to south, and from 700 to 800 
miles in breadth. This was either hereditary or conquered. 
Their patrimonial and part of their conquered country were 
used for the purposes of habitation and hunting. Their 
hunting-grounds were very extensive, including a large tri- 
angle on the southeast side of the St. Lawrence River — the 
country lying on the south and east sides of Lake Erie — 
the country between the Lakes Erie and Michigan, and the 
country lying on the north of Lake Erie and northwest of 
Lake Ontario, and between the Lakes Ontario and Huron. 
All the remaining part of their territory was inhabited by the 
Abenaquis, Algonkins, Shawanese, Delawares, Illinois, Mi- 
amies, and other vassal nations. 

The acquisition of supremacy over a country of such ama- 
zing extent and fertility, inhabited by warlike and numerous 
nations, must have been the result of unity of design and 
system of action, proceeding from a wise and energetic 
policy continued for a long course of time. To their social 
combinations, military talents, and exterior arrangements, 
we must look for this system, if such a system is to be found. 

The Confederates had proceeded far beyond the first ele- 
ment of all associations, that of combination into families'; 
they had their villages, their tribes, their nations, and their 
Confederacy ; but they had not advanced beyond the first 
stage of government. They were destitute of an executive 
and judiciary to execute the determinations of their councils; 
and their government was, therefore, merely advisory and 
without a coercive principle. The respect which was paid 
to their chiefs, and the general odium that attached to diso- 
bedience, rendered the decisions of their Legislatures for a 
long series of years of as much validity as if they had been 
enforced by an executive arm. 

They were originally divided into five nations : the Mo- 
hawks, the Oneidas, the Onondagas, the Cayugas, and the 
Senecas. In 1712 the Tuscaroras, who lived on the back 
parts of North Carolina, and who had formed a deep and 
general conspiracy to exterminate the whites, were driven 
from their country, were adopted by the Iroquois as a sixth 
nation, and lived on lands between the Oneidas and Ononda- 
gas, assigned to them by the former.* 

* Smith's New-York, 46. Douglass's Summary, 243. 



348 APPENDIX. 

The Mohawks had four towns and one small village sit- 
uate on and near the fertile banks of the river of that name. 
The position of the first was at the confluence of the Scho- 
harie Creek and Mohawk River, and the others were farther 
to the west. This nation, from their propinquity to the set- 
tlements of the whites, from their martial renown and mili- 
tary spirit, have, like Holland, frequently given their name to 
the whole Confederacy, which is often denominated the Mo- 
hawks in the annals of those days ; and it may be found 
employed in the pages of a celebrated periodical writer of 
Great Britain for the purpose of the most exquisite humour.** 
This nation was always held in the greatest veneration by 
its associates. At the important treaty of 1768 at Fort 
Stanwix, by Sir William Johnson, they were declared by 
the other nations " the true old heads of the Confederacy."! 

The Oneidas had their principal seat on the south of the 
Oneida Lake, the Onondagas near the Onondaga, and the 
Cayugas near the Cayuga Lake. The principal village of 
the Senecas was near the Genesee River, about twenty 
miles from Irondequoit Bay. 

Each nation was divided into three tribes ; the Tortoise, 
the Bear, and the Wolf; and each village was, like the cities 
of the United Netherlands, a distinct republic ; and its con- 
cerns were managed by its particular chiefs. § Their exte- 
rior relations, general interests, and national affairs were 
conducted and superintended by a great council, assembled 
annually in Onondaga, the central canton, composed of the 
chiefs of each republic ; and eighty sachems were frequently 
convened at this national assembly. It took cognizance 
of the great questions of war and peace ; of affairs of the trib- 
utary nations, and of their negotiations with the French and 
English colonies. All their proceedings were conducted 
with great deliberation, and were distinguished for order, 
decorum, and solemnity. In eloquence, in dignity, and in 
all the characteristics of personal policy, they surpassed an 
assembly of feudal barons, and were, perhaps, not far inferior 
to the great Amphyctionic Council of Greece. Dr. Robert- 
son, who has evinced, in almost every instance, a strong 
propensity to degrade America below its just rank in the 

* Spectator. 

t The proceedings of this treaty were never published. I have seen 
them in manuscript in the possession of Governor George Clinton. 
t See Charlevoix, Colden, &c. 



THE SIX NATIONS. 349 

scale of creation, was compelled to qualify the generality of 
his censures in relation to its political institutions by saying, 
" If we except the celebrated league which united the Five 
Nations in Canada into a federal republic, we can discern 
few such traces of political wisdom among the rude Ameri- 
can tribes as discover any great degree of foresight or extent 
of intellectual abilities.' 1 * 

A distinguished feature in the character of the Confederates 
was an exalted spirit of liberty, which revolted with 
equal indignation at domestic or foreign control. " We are 
born free," said Garangula in his admirable speech to the 
governor-general of Canada ; " we neither depend on Onon- 
thio or Corlear"f — on France or on England. Baron La- 
hontan, who openly avowed his utter detestation and abhor- 
rence of them, is candid enough to acknowledge that " they 
laugh at the menaces of kings and governors, for they have 
no idea of dependance ; nay, the very word is to them in- 
supportable. They look upon themselves as sovereigns, 
accountable to none but God alone, whom they call the Great 
Spirit." They admitted of no hereditary distinctions. The 
office of sachem was the reward of personal merit ; of great 
wisdom or commanding eloquence ; of distinguished services 
in the cabinet or in the field. It was conferred by silent and 
general consent, as the spontaneous tribute due to eminent 
worth ; and it could only be maintained by the steady and 
faithful cultivation of the virtues and accomplishments which 
procured it. No personal slavery was permitted ;J: their 
captives were either killed or adopted as a portion of the na- 
tion. The children of the chiefs were encouraged to emulate 
the virtues of their sires, and were frequently elevated to the 
dignities occupied by their progenitors. From this source 
has arisen an important error with respect to the establish- 
ment of privileged orders among the Confederates. 

There is a striking similitude between the Romans and the 
Confederates, not only in their martial spirit and rage for con- 
quest, but in their treatment of the conquered. Like the 
Romans, they not only adopted individuals, but incorporated 
the remnant of their vanquished enemies into their nation, 

* 1 Robertson's America, p. 435. 

t See this speech in Appendix No. I, ; taken from " New Voyages 
to North America, by Baron Lahontan, Lord-lieutenant of the French 
colonies at Placentia, in Newfoundland, &c, 2 vols. London, 1703." t 

X 1 Colden, p. 11. 

30 



350 APPENDIX. 

by which they continually recruited their population, ex- 
hausted by endless and wasting wars, and were enabled to 
continue their career of victory and desolation : if their un- 
happy victims hesitated or refused, they were compelled to 
accept of the honours of adoption. The Hurons of the 
Island of Orleans, in 1656, knowing no other way to save 
themselves from destruction, solicited admission into the 
canton of the Mohawks, and were accepted ; but, at the in- 
stance of the French, they declined their own proposal. On 
this occasion the Mohawks continued their ravages and com- 
pelled acquiescence ; they sent thirty of their warriors to 
Quebec, who took them away with the consent of the gover- 
nor-general — he, in fact, not daring to refuse — after having 
addressed him in the following terms of proud defiance, 
which cannot but bring to our recollection similar instances 
of Roman spirit when Rome was free :* " Lift up thy arm, 
Ononthio, and allow thy children, whom thou holdest pres- 
sed to thy bosom, to depart ; for if they are guilty of any 
imprudence, have reason to dread, lest, in coming to chastise 
them, my blows fall on thy head." Like the Romans also, 
they treated their vassal nations with extreme rigour. If 
there were any delay in the rendering of the annual tribute, 
military execution followed, and the wretched delinquents 
frequently took refuge in the houses of the English to escape 
from destruction. On all public occasions they took care to 
demonstrate their superiority and dominion, and at all times 
they called their vassals to an awful account, if guilty of vi- 
olating the injunctions of the great council. At a treaty held 
on the forks of the Delaware, in 1758, by the Governors of 
Pennsylvania and New-Jersey, with the Six Nations, sev- 
eral claims of the Munsees, Wapings, and other Delaware 
Indians, for lands in the latter province, were adjudged and 
satisfied under the cognizance of the Confederates, who or- 
dered them to deliver up their prisoners and to be at peace 
with the English, and who assumed a dictatorial tone, and 
appeared to exercise absolute authority over the other In- 
dians.! At a former conference on this subject, a Munsee 
or Minisink Indian had spoken sitting, not being allowed to 
stand, until a Cayuga chief had spoken — when the latter 
thus expressed himself — "I, who am the Mingoian, am by 

* Herriot's History of Canada, 79. (This work is a compilation, 
principally from Charlevoix.) 

t Smith's New- Jersey, 466, &c. 



THE SIX NATIONS. 351 

this belt to inform you that the Munseys are women, and 
cannot hold treaties for themselves ; therefore I am sent to 
inform you that the invitation you gave the Munseys is 
agreeable to us the Six Nations." 

At a treaty held at Lancaster in 1742 by the Governor of 
Pennsylvania with the Iroquois, the governor complained of 
the Delawares, who refused to remove from some lands 
which they had sold on the River Delaware.* On this oc- 
casion a great chief, called Caunassateegoo, after severely 
reprimanding them, and ordering them to depart from the 
land immediately to Wyoming or Shamokin, concluded in 
the following manner : — " After our just reproof and abso- 
lute order to depart from the land, you are now to take 
notice of what we have further to say to you. This string 
of wampum serves to forbid you, your children and grand- 
children, to the latest posterity, from ever meddling in land 
affairs — neither you nor any who shall descend from you are 
ever hereafter to sell any land. For this purpose you are to 
preserve this string, in memory of what your uncles have 
this day given you in charge. We have some other business 
to transact with our brethren, and therefore depart the coun- 
cil, and consider what has been said to you." The Confed- 
erates had captured a great part of the Shawanese nation, 
who lived on the Wabash ; but afterward, by the mediation 
of Mr. Penn, at the first settlement of Pennsylvania, gave 
them liberty to settle in the western parts of that province ; 
but obliged them, however, as a badge of their cowardice, to 
wear female attire for a long time ; and some nations, as low 
down as 1769, were not permitted to appear ornamented 
with paintf at any general meeting or congress where the 
Confederates attended, that being an express article in their 
capitulations.^ This humiliation of the tributary nations 
was, however, tempered with a paternal regard for their in- 
terests in all negotiations with the whites ; and care was 
taken that no trespass should be committed on their rights, 
and that they should be justly dealt with in all their con- 
cerns. 

War was the favourite pursuit of this martial people, and 
military glory their ruling passion. Agriculture and the la- 

* 1 Colden, 31. t Rogers's Concise Account, &c, 209, &c. 

t This is the Shawanese nation who, under the auspices of their 
prophet, had an engagement at Tippecanoe with the army under the 
command of Gen. Harrison. 



352 APPENDIX. 

borious drudgery of domestic life were left to the women. 
The education of the savage was wholly directed to hunting 
and war. From his early infancy he was taught to bend the 
bow, to point the arrow, to hurl the tomahawk, and to wield 
the club. He was instructed to pursue the footsteps of his 
enemies through the pathless and unexplored forest; to 
mark the most distant indications of danger ; to trace his 
way by the appearances of the trees and by the stars of 
heaven ; and to endure fatigue, and cold, and famine, and 
every privation. He commenced his career of blood by 
hunting the wild beasts of the woods, and after learning the 
dexterous use of the weapons of destruction, he lifted his 
sanguinary arm against his fellow-creatures. The profes- 
sion of a warrior was considered the most illustrious pur- 
suit ; their youth looked forward to the time when they could 
march against an enemy with all the avidity of an epicure 
for the sumptuous dainties of a Heliogabalus. And this 
martial ardour was continually thwarting the pacific counsels 
of the elders, and enthralling them in perpetual and devasta- 
ting wars. With savages in general, this ferocious propen- 
sity was impelled by a blind fury, and was but little regu- 
lated by the dictates of skill and judgment : on the contrary, 
with the Iroquois, war was an art. All their military move- 
ments were governed by system and policy. They never 
attacked a hostile country until they had sent out spies to ex- 
plore and to designate its vulnerable points ; and whenever 
they encamped, they observed the greatest circumspection 
to guard against surprise : whereas the other savages only 
sent out scouts to reconnoitre ; but they never went far from 
the camp, and if they returned without perceiving any signs 
of an enemy, the whole band went quietly to sleep, and 
were often the victims of their rash confidence.* 

Whatever superiority of force the Iroquois might have, 
they never neglected the use of stratagems : they employed 
all the crafty wiles of the Carthaginians. The cunning of 
the fox, the ferocity of the tiger, and the power of the lion, 
were united in their conduct. They preferred to vanquish 
their enemy by taking him off his guard ; by involving him in 
an ambuscade ; by falling upon him in the hour of sleep ; but 
when emergencies rendered it necessary for them to face him 
in the open field of battle, they exhibited a courage and con- 
tempt of death which have never been surpassed. 

* Colden, 110. Herriot, 15. 



THE SIX NATIONS. 353 

Although we have no reason to believe that they were, 
generally speaking, Anthropophagi, yet we have no doubt 
but that they sometimes eat the bodies of their enemies killed 
in battle, more, indeed, for the purpose of exciting their 
ferocious fury than for gratifying their appetite — like all 
other savage nations, they delighted in cruelty. To inflict 
the most exquisite torture upon their captive ; to produce 
his death by the most severe and protracted sufferings, was 
sanctioned by general and immemorial usage. Herodotus 
informs us that the Scythians (who were, in all probability, 
the ancestors of the greater part of our red men) drank the 
blood of their enemies, and suspended their scalps from the 
bridle of their horses for a napkin and a trophy ; that they 
used their sculls for drinking vessels, and their skins as a 
covering for their horses.* In the war between the Cartha- 
ginians and their mercenaries, Gisco, a Carthaginian gener- 
al, and 700 prisoners (according to Polybius), were scalped 
alive ; and in return, Spendius, a general of the mercenaries, 
was crucified, and the prisoners taken in the war thrown 
alive to the elephants. f From these celebrated nations we 
may derive the practice of scalping, so abhorrent to human- 
ity ; and it is not improbable, considering the maritime skill 
and distant voyages of the Phoenicians and Carthaginians, 
that America derives part of its population from that source 
by water, as it undoubtedly has from the northeast parts of 
Asia by land, with the exception of a narrow strait. 

But the Five Nations, notwithstanding their horrible cru- 
elty, are in one respect entitled to singular commendation 
for the exercise of humanity : those enemies they spared in 
battle they made free ; whereas, with all other barbarous na- 
tions, slavery was the commutation of death. But it becomes 
not us, if we value the characters of our forefathers ; it be- 
comes not the civilized nations of Europe who have had 
American possessions, to inveigh against the merciless con- 
duct of the savage. His appetite for blood was sharpened 
and whetted by European instigation, and his cupidity was 
enlisted on the side of cruelty by every temptation. In the 
wars between France and England and their colonies, their 
Indian allies were entitled to a premium for every scalp of 
an enemy. In the war preceding 1703, the government of 
Massachusetts gave £12 for every Indian scalp ; in that 

* Beloe's Herodotus, 2 vol., p. 419. f Polybius, b. 1, c. 6. 

30* 



354 APPENDIX. 

year the premium was raised to £40 ; but in 1722 it was 
augmented £100.* An act was passed on the 25th Febru- 
ary, 1745, by our colonial legislature, entitled "An act for 
giving a reward for such scalps and prisoners as shall be 
taken by the inhabitants of (or Indians in alliance with) this 
colony, and to prevent the inhabitants of the city and county 
of Albany from selling rum to the Indians."! In 1746 the 
scalps of two Frenchmen were presented to one of our colo- 
nial governors at Albany by three of the confederate In- 
dians ; and his excellency, after gratifying them with money 
and fine clothes, assured them how well he took this special 
mark of their fidelity, and that he would always remember 
this act of friendship.}. The employment of savages, and 
putting into their hands the scalping-knife during our revo- 
lutionary war, were openly justified in the House of Lords 
by Lord Suffolk, the British Secretary of State, who vindi- 
cated its policy and necessity, and declared "that the meas- 
ure was also allowable on principle ; for that it was per- 
fectly justifiable to use all the means that God and nature 
had put into their hands. "§ The eloquent rebuke of Lord 
Chatham has perpetuated the sentiment, and consigned its 
author to immortal infamy. It were to be wished, for the 
honour of human nature, that an impenetrable veil could be 
drawn over these horrid scenes ; but alas ! they are com- 
mitted to the imperishable pages of history ; and they are 
already recorded with the conflagrations of Smithfield, the 
massacres of St. Bartholomew, and the cannibal barbarities 
of the French Revolution. 

The conquests and military achievements of the Iroquois 
were commensurate with their martial ardour, their thirst 
for glory, their great courage, their invincible perseverance, 
and their political talents. Their military excursions were 
extended as far north as Hudson's Bay. The Mississippi 
did not form their western limits ; their power was felt in 
the most southern and eastern extremities of the United 
States. Their wars have been supposed, by one writer, to 
have been carried near to the Isthmus of Darien.1T And 
Cotton Mather, in his Magnalia, which was probably writ- 
ten in 1698, describes them as terrible cannibals to the 

* Douglass's Summary, p. 199, 586. 2 Holmes's American Annals, 
116. 

t 1 vol. Journal of Colonial Assembly, p. 95. 

t 2 Colden, 120. $ Belsham. f Rogers's America, 209. 



THE SIX NATIONS. 355 

westward, who have destroyed no less than two nations of 
other savages.* 

The ostensible causes of war among the Indians were 
like many of those among civilized nations ; controversies 
about limits, violations of the rights of embassy, individual, 
or national wrongs ; and the real and latent reasons were 
generally the same — the enlargement of territory, the exten- 
sion of dominion, the gratification of cupidity, and the acqui- 
sition of glory. According to a late traveller, a war has 
existed for two centuries between the Sioux and the Chippe- 
was.f For an infraction of the rights of the calumet, the 
Confederates carried on a war of thirty years against the 
Choctaws.J For a violation of the game laws of the hunt- 
ing nations, in not leaving a certain number of male and 
female beavers in each pond, they subdued and nearly de- 
stroyed the Illinois ;§ and they appeared to have accurate 
notions of the rights of belligerants over contraband arti- 
cles ; for they considered all military implements carried 
to an enemy as liable to seizure ; but they went farther, and 
conceiving this conduct a just ground of war, treated the 
persons supplying their enemies as enemies, and devoted 
them to death. But the commerce in furs and peltries, pro- 
duced by their intercourse with the Europeans, introduced 
a prolific source of contention among them, and operated 
like opening the box of Pandora. Those articles were 
eagerly sought after by the whites ; and the red men were 
equally desirous of possessing iron, arms, useful tools, 
cloths, and the other accommodations of civilized life. Be- 
fore the arrival of the Europeans, furs were only esteemed 
for their use as clothing ; but when the demand increased, 
and an exchange of valuable articles took place, it became 
extremely important to occupy the most productive hunting- 
grounds, and to monopolize the best and the most furs. And it 
was sometimes the policy of the French to divert the at- 
tacks of the Iroquois from the nations with whom they 
traded by instigating them to hostilities against the South- 
ern Indians friendly to the English colonies ; while at other 
times they excited wars between their northern allies and 



* Magnalia, p. 728. 

t Pike's Expedition to the Sources of the Mississippi, &c, 64. 

t Smith's New- York, 52. 

<j> See Garaugula's Speech in Appendix, No. I. 



356 APPENDIX. 

the Iroquois, in order to prevent the former from trading 
with the English, which they preferred, because they could 
get their goods cheaper. On the other hand, the English en- 
tangled the Confederates in all their hostilities with the French 
and their Indian allies. The commerce in furs and peltries 
was deemed so valuable, that no exertion or expense was 
spared in order to effect a monopoly. The goods of the Eng- 
lish were so eagerly sought after by the Indians, and so much 
preferred to those of the French, that the latter were com- 
pelled to procure them from the colony of New- York ; from 
whence they were conveyed to Montreal, and distributed 
among the savages. It was then evident that the English 
had it in their power, not only to undersell the French, but, 
by a total interdiction of those supplies, to expel them from 
the trade. The enlightened policy of Gov. Burnett dictated 
a most energetic step, and a colonial law was passed for the 
purpose.* He also established trading-houses [|] and 
erected a fort at Oswego, at the entrance of Onondaga [now 
Oswego] River into Lake Ontario. This position was judi- 
ciously selected ; not only on account of its water com- 
munication with a great part of the Iroquois territory, but 
for the facility with which articles could be transported to 
and from Schenectady ; there being but three portages in 
the whole route, two of which were very short. It had an- 
other decided advantage. The Indian navigation of the 
lakes being in canoes, is necessarily along the coast. The 
southern side of Lake Ontario affording a much more secure 
route than the northern, all the Indians who came from the 
great lakes would on their way to Canada have to pass 
close by the English establishment, where they could be 
supplied at a cheaper rate and at a less distance. Oswego 
then became one great emporium of the fur-trade ; and its 
ruins now proclaim the vestiges of its former prosperity. 
The French perceived all the consequences of those meas- 
ures, and they immediately rebuilt the fort at Niagara, in 
order that they might have a commercial establishment 200 
miles nearer the Western Indians than at Oswego. Having 
previously occupied the mouth of Lake Ontario by Fort 
Frontenac, the fort at Niagara now gave them a decided ad- 

* 1 Colden's Five Nations, 95. Smith's New- York, 224, &c. 
Herriot's Canada, 174. 

[t] See notices in this volume of the military and trading posts in 
Western New- York, in article headed " Irondequoit Bay." 



THE SIX NATIONS. 357 

vantage in point of position. The act passed by Governor 
Burnett's recommendation was, under the influence of a per- 
nicious policy, repealed by the British king. The Iroquois 
had adopted a determined resolution to exterminate the 
French. " Above these thirty years," says La Hontan, 
" their ancient counsellors have still remonstrated to the 
warriors of the Five Nations, that it was expedient to cut off 
all the savage nations of Canada, in order to ruin the com- 
merce of the French, and after that to dislodge them from 
the continent. With this view they have carried the war above 
four or five hundred leagues off their country, after the destroy- 
ing of several different nations."* Charlevoix was impress- 
ed with the same opinion. " The Iroquois," says he, " are 
desirous of exercising a species of domination over the whole 
of this great continent, and to render themselves the sole 
masters of its commerce."! Finding the auxiliary efforts of 
the English rendered abortive, their rage and fury increased, 
and the terror of their arms was extended accordingly. At 
a subsequent period they appeared to entertain different and 
more enlightened views on this subject. They duly appre- 
ciated the policy of averting the total destruction of either 
European power ; and several instances could be pointed 
out, by which it could be demonstrated that the balance of 
power, formerly the subject of so much speculation among 
the statesmen of Europe, was thoroughly understood by the 
Confederates in their negotiations and intercourse with the 
French and English colonies. 

To describe the military enterprises of this people would 
be to delineate the progress of a tornado or an earth- 
quake.J 

' Wide-wasting death, up to the ribs in blood, with giant-stroke wid- 
ow'd the nations. "§ 

Destruction followed their footsteps, and whole nations 
subdued, exterminated, rendered tributary, expelled from 
their country, or merged in their conquerors, declare the 
superiority and the terror of their arms. When Champlain 
arrived in Canada in 1603, he found them at war with the 

* Vol. i., p. 270. 

t Charlevoix's Histoire Generate de la Nouvelle France, 1 vol., b. 11, 
p. 487. 

t For the military exploits of the Iroquois, generally speaking, see 
De la Potheire, La Hontan, Charlevoix, Colden, Smith, and Herriot, 

$ Cumberland's Battle of Hastings. 



858 APPENDIX. 

Hurons and Algonkins. He took part and headed three 
expeditions against them, in two of which he was success- 
ful ; but in the last he was repulsed. This unjust and im- 
politic interference laid the foundation of continual wars be- 
tween the French and the Confederates. The Dutch, on 
the contrary, entered into an alliance with them on their 
first settlement of the country, which continued without in- 
terruption ; and on the surrender of New-York to the Eng- 
lish in 1664, Carteret, one of the commissioners, was sent 
to subdue the Dutch at Fort Orange, now Albany, which 
having effected, he had a conference with the Confederates, 
and entered into a league of friendship, which continued 
without violation on either part.* 

The conquests of the Iroquois, previous to the discovery 
of America, are only known to us through the imperfect 
channels of tradition ; but it is well authenticated that, since 
that memorable era, they exterminated the nation of the 
Eries or Erigas, on the south side of Lake Erie, which has 
given a name to that lake. They nearly extirpated the An- 
dastez and the Chauanons ; they conquered the Hurons, and 
drove them and their allies, the Ottawas, among the Sioux, 
on the head waters of the Mississippi, " where they separa- 
ted themselves into bands, and proclaimed, wherever they 
went, the terror of the Iroquois. "f They also subdued the 
Illinois, the Miamies, the Algonkins, the Delawares, the 
Shawanese, and several tribes of the Abenaquis. After the 
Iroquois had defeated the Hurons, in a dreadful battle fought 
near Quebec, the Neperceneans, who lived upon the St. 
Lawrence, fled to Hudson's Bay to avoid their fury. In 
1649 they destroyed two Huron villages and dispersed the 
nation; and afterward they destroyed another village of 600 
families. Two villages presented themselves to the Con- 
federates, and lived with them. " The dread of the Iro- 
quois," says the historian, " had such an effect upon all the 
other nations, that the borders of the River Ontaonis, which 
were long thickly peopled, became almost deserted without 
its ever being known what became of the greater part of the 
inhabitants."^ The Illinois fled to the westward after being 
attacked by the Confederates, and did not return until a gen- 
eral peace ; and were permitted in 1760 by the Confederates 

* 1 Colden, p. 34. Smith's New- York, p. 3-31. Douglass's Sum- 
mary, p. 243. 

f Herriot, page 77. t Ibid, p. 70. 



THE SIX NATIONS. 359 

to settle in the country between the Wabash and the Scioto 
Rivers.* The banks of Lake Superior were lined with Al- 
gonkins, who sought an asylum from the Five Nations ; they 
also harassed all the Northern Indians as far as Hudson's 
Bay, and they even attacked the nations on the Missouri. 
When La Salle was among the Natchez in 1683, he saw a 
party of that people who had been on an expedition against 
the Iroquois. f Smith, the founder of Virginia, in an expe- 
dition up the Bay of Chesapeake in 1608, met a war party 
of the Confederates, then going to attack their enemies.J 
They were at peace with the Cowetas, or Creeks, but they 
warred against the Catawbas, the Cherokees, and almost all 
the Southern Indians. § The two former sent deputies to 
Albany, where they effected a peace through the mediation 
of the English. In a word, the Confederates were, with a 
few exceptions, the conquerors and masters of all the Indian 
nations east of the Mississippi. Such was the terror of the 
nations, that when a single Mohawk appeared on the hills of 
New-England, the fearful spectacle spread pain and terror, 
and flight was the only refuge from death. || Charlevoix 
mentions a singular instance of this terrific ascendancy. 
Ten or twelve Ottawas being pursued by a party of Iroquois, 
endeavoured to pass over to Goat Island, on the Niagara 
River, in a canoe, and were swept down the cataract ; and 
as it appeared, preferred to the sword of their enemieslP ' 

" The vast immeasurable abyss, 
Outrageous as a sea, dark, wasteful, wild, 
Up from the bottom turned."** 

In consequence of their sovereignty over the other nations, 
the Confederates exercised a proprietary right in their lands. 
In 1742 they granted to the province of Pennsylvania certain 
lands on the west side of the Susquehannah, having formerly 
done so on the east side.tt In 1744 they released to Mary- 
land and Virginia certain lands claimed by them in those 
colonies ; and they declared at this treaty that they had 
conquered the several nations living on the Susquehannah 

* Pownall's Topographical Description of Parts of North America, 
«&c, 1776, p. 42. 

t Tontis's Account of De la Salle's last Expedition, printed in 
London from the French in 1698, p. 112. 

t Jefferson's Notes on Virginia, 310, &c. 

$ Adair's History of the Indians. II 1 Colden, p. 3. 

IT 3 Charlevoix, Letter 15, p. 234. 

** Milton's Paradise Lost, book 7. ft 2 Colden, p. 20. 



360 APPENDIX. 

and Potomac Rivers, and on the back of the great mount- 
ains in Virginia.* In 1754 a number of the inhabitants of 
Connecticut [claiming the pre-emptive right under quit-claim 
deeds from that state — vide article about the " Controversy 
with Connecticut"] purchased of them a large tract of land 
west of the River Delaware, and from thence spreading over 
the east and west branches of the Susquehannah River. | In 
1768 they gave a deed to William Trent and others for land 
between the Ohio and Monongahela. They claimed and sold 
the land on the north side of Kentucky River. | In 1768, 
at a treaty held at Fort Stanwix, with Sir William Johnson, 
the " line of property," as it was commonly denominated, 
was settled ; marking out the boundary between the English 
colonies and the territories of the Confederates. § 

The vicinity of the Confederates was fortunate for the 
colony of New- York. They served as an effectual shield 
against the hostile incursions of the French and their savage 
allies. Their war with the French began with Champlain, 
and continued with few intervals until the treaty of Utrecht, 
which confirmed the surrender of Canada, Nova Scotia, and 
Acadia to Great Britain. For near a century and a half 
they maintained a war against the French possessions in 
Louisiana and Canada ; sometimes alone, and sometimes in 
conjunction with the English colonies. During this eventful 
period they often maintained a proud superiority ; always 
an honourable resistance ; and no vicissitude of fortune or 
visitation of calamity could ever compel them to descend 
from the elevated ground which they occupied in their own 
estimation and in the opinion of the nations. 

Their expeditions into Canada were frequent ; wherever 
they marched, terror and desolation composed their train ; 

" And vengeance, striding from his grisly den, 
With fell impatience grinds his iron teeth ; 
And massacre unbidden cloys his famine, 
And quaffs the blood of nations. "|| 

In 1683 M. Delabarre, the Governor-general of Canada, 
marched with an army against the Cantons. He landed 
near Oswego ; but finding himself incompetent to meet the 
enemy, he instituted a negotiation and demanded a confer- 
ence. On this occasion, Garangula, an Onondaga chief, at- 

* 7 Mass. Hist. Coll., p. 171. f Ibid, p. 231. 

% 2 Holme's Annals, p. 287. Jefferson's Notes, p. 296. § Ibid. 
II Glover's Boadicea. 



THE SIX NATIONS. 361 

tended in behalf of his country, and made the celebrated re- 
ply to M. Delabarre, which I shall presently notice. The 
French retired from the country with disgrace. The second 
general expedition was undertaken in 1687 by M. Denon- 
ville, governor-general. He had treacherously seized several 
of their chiefs, and sent them to the galleys in France. He 
was at the head of an army exceeding 2000 men. He 
landed in Irondequoit Bay ; and when near a village of the 
Senecas, was attacked by 500, and would have been defeated 
if his Indian allies had not rallied and repulsed the enemy. 
After destroying some provisions and burning some villages, 
he retired without any acquisition of laurels. The place 
on which this battle was fought has been, within a few years, 
owned by Judge Augustus Porter, of Grand Niagara. On 
ploughing the land 300 hatchets and upward of 3000 pounds 
of old iron were found ; being more than sufficient to defray 
the expense of clearing it. 

The Confederates in a year's time compelled their ene- 
mies to make peace and to restore their chiefs. It was 
with the French the only escape from destruction. Great 
bodies of the Confederates threatened Montreal, and their 
canoes covered the great lakes. They shut up the French 
in forts ; and would have conquered the whole of Canada, 
if they had understood the art of attacking fortified places. 
This peace was soon disturbed by the artifices of Kondia- 
ronk, a Huron chief; and the Iroquois made an irruption on 
the island of Montreal with 1200 men, destroying every- 
thing before them. 

The third and last grand expedition against the Confed- 
erates was undertaken in 1697 by the Count de Frontenac, 
the ablest and bravest governor that the French ever had in 
Canada. He landed at Oswego with a powerful force, and 
marched to the Onondaga Lake — he found their principal 
village burned and abandoned. He sent 700 men to destroy 
the Oneida Castle, who took a few prisoners. An Onondaga 
chief, upward of 100 years old, was captured in the woods, 
and abandoned to the fury of the French savages. After 
sustaining the most horrid tortures with more than stoical 
fortitude, the only complaint he was heard to utter was 
when one of them, actuated by compassion, or probably by 
rage, stabbed him repeatedly with a knife, in order to put a 
speedy end to his existence. "Thou ought not," said he, 
" to abridge my life, that thou might have time to learn to 
31 



362 APPENDIX. 

die like a man. For my own part, I die contented, because 
I know no meanness with which to reproach myself." After 
this tragedy, the count thought it prudent to retire with his 
army ; and he probably would have fallen a victim to his 
temerity, if the Senecas had not been kept at home from a 
false report that they were to be attacked at the same time 
by the Ottawas. 

After the general peace in 1762, an attempt was made by 
a number of the western Indians to destroy the British col- 
onies. The Senecas were involved in this war ;[*] but in 
1764, Sir Wm. Johnson, styling himself " his Majesty's sole 
Agent and Superintendent of Indian Affairs for the northern 
parts of North America, and Colonel of the Six United Na- 
tions, their allies and dependants," agreed to preliminary ar- 
ticles of peace with them. In this treaty, the Senecas 
ceded the carrying-place at Niagara to Great Britain. The 
Confederates remained in a state of peace until the com- 
mencement of the revolutionary war.f On the 19th June, 
1775, the Oneidas and some other Indians sent to the Con- 
vention of Massachusetts a speech declaring their neutrality 
—stating that they could not find nor recollect in the tradi- 
tions of their ancestors a parallel case; and saying, "As 
we have declared for peace, we desire you would not ap- 
ply to our Indian brethren in New-England for assistance. 
Let us Indians be all of one mind and live with one another, 
and you white people settle your own disputes between 
yourselves."J These good dispositions did not long con- 
tinue with most of the Indian nations: all within the reach 
of British blandishments and persents were prevailed upon 
to take up the hatchet. It is calculated that 12,690 Indian 
warriors were employed by the British during the revolu- 
tionary war, of which 1580 were Iroquois.^ The influence 
of Sir William Johnson over the savages was transmitted to 
his son, who was most successful in alluring them into the 
views of Great Britain. " A great war-feast was held by 

[* This refers to the great conspiracy of Pontiac, the connexion of the 
Senecas with which was signalized by the tragedy of the " Devil's 
Hole" — of which particulars are given in note III. at the conclusion of 
this article.] 

f Thos. Mante's History of the late War in America, &c, printed in 
London, 1772, p. 503. 

t 2 William's History of Vermont, p. 440. [See " Indian Accounts" 
of the causes which involved them in the war, in this volume.] 

§ 10 vol. Mass. Hist. Soc, p. 120, &c. 



THE SIX NATIONS. 363 

him on the occasion, in which, according to the horrid phra- 
seology of these barbarians, they were invited to banquet 
upon a Bostonian and to drink his blood."* 

Gen. Burgoyne made a speech to the Indians on the 21st 
of June, 1777, urging them to hostilities, and stating "his 
satisfaction at the general conduct of the Indian tribes from 
the beginning of the troubles in America." An old Iroquois 
chief answered, " We have been tried and tempted by the 
Bostonians ; but we have loved our father, and our hatchets 
have been sharpened on our affections. In proof of the sin- 
cerity of our professions, our whole villages able to go to 
war are come forth : the old and infirm, our infants and our 
wives, alone remain at home."f They realized their pro- 
fessions. The whole Confederacy, except a little more than 
half of the Oneidas, took up arms against us. They hung 
like the scythe of death upon the rear of our settlements, and 
their deeds are inscribed with the scalping-knife and the 
tomahawk in characters of blood on the fields of Wyoming 
and Cherry Valley, and on the banks of the Mohawk. 

It became necessary that the Confederates should receive 
a signal chastisement for their barbarous and cruel incur- 
sions ; and accordingly, Gen. Sullivan, with an army of near 
5000 men, marched into their country in the year 1779. 
Near Newtown, in the present county of Tioga, he defeated 
them, and drove them from their fortifications. He contin- 
ued his march between the Cayuga and Seneca Lakes, and 
through their territory as far as the Genesee River, destroy- 
ing their orchards, corn-fields, and forty villages, the largest 
of which contained 128 houses. This expedition was nearly 
the finishing blow to savage cruelty and insolence. Their 
habitations were destroyed ; their provinces laid waste ; they 
were driven from their country, and were compelled to take 
refuge under the cannon of Niagara ; and their hostility ter- 
minated with the pacification with Great Britain. [J] 

The Confederates were as celebrated for their eloquence 
as for their military skill and political wisdom. Popular ox 
free governments have in all ages been the congenial soil of 
oratory ; and it is, indeed, all important in institutions merely 
advisory, where persuasion must supply the place of coer- 

* Belcham. t Williams, as before quoted. 

[t But manifested itself in various ways afterward, as in the battles 
with Harmer, St. Clair, Wayne, and Harrison — some particulars of 
which are stated in the article headed " Indian Difficulties."] 



364 APPENDIX. 

cion ; where there is no magistrate to execute ; no military 
to compel ; and where the only sanction of law is the con- 
trolling power of public opinion. Eloquence being, there- 
fore, considered so essential, must always be a great stand- 
ard of personal merit — a certain road to popular favour and 
a universal passport to public honours. These combined 
inducements operated with powerful force on the mind of 
the Indian ; and there is little doubt but that oratory was 
studied with as much care and application among the Con- 
federates as it was in the stormy democracies of the east- 
ern hemisphere. I do not pretend to assert that there were, 
as at Athens and Rome, established schools and professional 
teachers for the purpose ; but I say that it was an attain- 
ment to which they devoted themselves, and to which they 
bent the whole force of their faculties. Their models of 
eloquence were to be found, not in books, but in the living 
orators of their local and national assemblies : their chil- 
dren at an early period of life attended their council-fires, in 
order to observe, the passing scenes and to receive the les- 
sons of wisdom. Their rich and vivid imagery was drawn 
from the sublime scenery of nature, and their ideas were de- 
rived from the laborious operations of their own minds, and 
from the experience and wisdom of their ancient sages. 

The most remarkable difference existed between the Con- 
federates and the other Indian nations with respect to elo- 
quence. You may search in vain in the records and wri- 
tings of the past, or in the events of the present times, for a 
single model of eloquence among the Algonkins, the Abena- 
quis, the Delawares, the Shawanese, or any other nation of 
Indians except the Iroquois. The few scintillations of in- 
tellectual light, the faint glimmerings of genius which are 
sometimes to be found in their speeches, are evidently de- 
rivative, and borrowed from the Confederates. 

Considering the interpreters who have undertaken to give 
the meaning of Indian speeches, it is not a little surprising 
that some of them should approach so near to perfection. 
The major part of the interpreters were illiterate persons, 
sent among them to conciliate their favour by making use- 
ful or ornamental implements ; or they were prisoners, who 
learned the Indian language during their captivity. The Rev. 
Mr. Kirkland, a missionary among the Oneidas, and some- 
times a public interpreter, was indeed a man of liberal edu- 
cation ; but those who have seen him officiate at public trea- 
ties must recollect how incompetent he was to infuse the 



THE SIX NATIONS. 365 

fire of Indian oratory into his expressions ; how he laboured 
for words, and how feeble and inelegant his language. 
Oral is more difficult than written interpretation or transla- 
tion. In the latter case, there is no pressure of time, and we 
have ample opportunity to weigh the most suitable words, to 
select the most elegant expressions, and to fathom the sense 
of the author ; but in the former case we are called upon to 
act immediately ; no time for deliberation is allowed ; and 
the first ideas that occur must be pressed into the service of 
the interpreter. At an ancient treaty, a female captive offi- 
ciated in that capacity; and at a treaty held in 1722 at Al- 
bany, the speeches of the Indians were first rendered into 
Dutch, and then translated into English.* I except from 
these remarks the speech of the Onondaga Chief Garan- 
gula to M. Delabarre, delivered on the occasion which I 
have before mentioned. This was interpreted by Monsieur 
le Maine, a French Jesuit, and recorded on the spot by 
Baron la Hontan — men of enlightened and cultivated minds 
— from whom it has been borrowed by Colden, Smith, Her- 
riot, Trumbull, and Williams. I believe it to be impossible 
to find, in all the effusions of ancient or modern oratory, a 
vSpeech more appropriate and more convincing. Under the 
veil of respectful profession, it conveys the most biting irony ; 
and while it abounds with rich and splendid imagery, it con- 
tains the most solid reasoning. I place it in the same rank 
with the celebrated speech of Logan ; and I cannot but ex- 
press astonishment at the conduct of two respectable writers 
who have represented this interesting interview, and this sub- 
lime display of intellectual power, as " a scold between the 
French general and an old Indian."! 

On the 9th February, 1690, as we are informed by the 
tradition of the inhabitants, although history has fixed it on 
the 8th, the town of Schenectady, which then consisted of a 
church and forty-three houses, was surprised by a party of 
French and Indians from Canada : a dreadful scene of con- 
flagration and massacre ensued ; the greater part of the in- 
habitants were killed or made prisoners — those who escaped 
fled naked towards Albany in a deep snow which fell that 
very night, and providentially met sleighs from that place, 
which returned immediately with them. This proceeding 

* Oldmixon's British Empire, 1 vol., p. 254. 
f Colden and Smith. 

31* 



366 APPENDIX. 

struck terror into the inhabitants of Albany, who were about 
to abandon the country in despair and consternation. On 
this occasion, several of the Mohawk chiefs went to Albany, 
to make the customary speech of condolence, and to animate 
to honourable exertion. Their speech is preserved in the 
first volume of Colden's history of the " Five Indian Na- 
tions" — and even at this distant period it is impossible to 
read it without sensibility, without respecting its affectionate 
sympathy, and admiring its magnanimous spirit, and without 
ranking it among the most respectable models of eloquence 
which history affords. 

In 1777 and 1778, an association of our own citizens, in 
violation of law, contracted with the Six Nations for the 
greater part of their territory on a lease of 999 years at an 
insignificant annual rent. These proceedings were, on mo- 
tion of the president of the New-York Historical Society,[*] 
declared void in March, 1788, by the authorities of the state. 
And when their true character was made known to the In- 
dians, when they found that their country, in which were in- 
terred the bones of their ancestors, was sacrificed to the 
overreaching cupidity of unauthorized speculators, the great- 
est anxiety and consternation prevailed among them. The 
Senecas and Cayugas repaired to Albany to'confer with the 
governor; but having no speaker at that time of sufficient 
eminence and talents for the important occasion, they em- 
ployed Good Peter, or Domine Peter, the Cicero of the Six 
Nations, to be their orator ; and he addressed the governor 
and other commissioners in a speech of great length and 
ability : it was replete with figurative language — the topics 
were selected with great art and judgment. I took down 
the speech from the mouth of the interpreter ; and, notwith- 
standing the imperfect interpretation of Mr. Kirkland, con- 
sider it a rare specimen of Indian eloquence. 

Within a few years, an extraordinary orator has risen 
among the Senecas : his real name is Saguaha, but he is 
commonly called Red Jacket. Without the advantages of 
illustrious descent, and with no extraordinary talents for war, 
he has attained the first distinctions in the nation by the 
force of his eloquence. His predecessor in the honours of 
the nation was a celebrated chief denominated the Corn- 
planter. Having lost the confidence of his countrymen [by 
his efforts to alienate the Indian lands to the whites], in 

[* See article in this work headed, " A new State Projected." ] 



THE SIX NATIONS. 367 

order, as it is supposed, to retrieve his former standing, he 
persuaded his brother to announce himself as a prophet or 
messenger from Heaven, sent to redeem the fallen fortunes of 
the Indian race. The superstition of the savages cherished 
the impostor; and he acquired such an ascendency as to 
prevail upon the Onondagas, formerly the most drunken and 
profligate of the Six Nations, to abstain entirely from spirit- 
uous liquors, and to observe the laws of morality in other 
respects. He obtained the same ascendency among the 
Confederates as another impostor acquired among the Sha- 
wanese and other Western Indians ; and, like him, he has 
also employed his influence for evil as well as for good pur- 
poses. The Indians universally believe in witchcraft ; the 
prophet inculcated this superstition, and proceeded, through 
the instrumentality of conjurors selected by himself, to desig- 
nate the offenders, who were accordingly sentenced to death. 
And the unhappy objects would have been actually executed 
if the magistrates at Oneida and the officers of the garrison 
at Niagara had not interfered. This was considered an art- 
ful expedient to render his enemies the objects of general 
abhorrence, if not the victims of an ignominious death. 
Imboldened by success, he proceeded finally to execute the 
views of his brother ; and Red Jacket was publicly denounced 
at a great council of Indians held at Buffalo Creek, and was 
put upon his trial. At this crisis he well knew that the fu- 
ture colour of his life depended upon the powers of his mind. 
He spoke in his defence for near three hours. The iron- 
brow of superstition relented under the magic of his elo- 
quence ; he declared the prophet an impostor and a cheat ; 
he prevailed ; the Indians divided, and a small majority ap- 
peared in his favour. Perhaps the annals of history cannot 
furnish a more conspicuous instance of the triumph and 
power of oratory in a barbarous nation devoted to supersti- 
tion and looking up to the accuser as a delegated minister 
of the Almighty. 

I am well aware that the speech of Logan will be triumph- 
antly quoted against me, and that it will be said that the 
most splendid exhibition of Indian eloquence may be found 
out of the pale of the Six Nations. I fully subscribe to the 
eulogium of Mr. Jefferson when he says, " I may challenge 
the whole orations of Demosthenes and Cicero, and of any 
more eminent orator, if Europe has furnished more eminent, 
to produce a single passage superior to the speech of Logan." 



368 APPENDIX. 

But let it be remembered that Logan was a Mingo chief, the 
second son of Shikellimus, a celebrated Cayuga chief, and 
consequently belonged to the Confederates, although he did 
not live in their patrimonial territory. The Iroquois had sent 
out several colonies — one of them was settled at Sandus- 
ky, and was estimated to contain 300 warriors in 1768. 
Another was established on a branch of the Scioto, and had 
sixty warriors in 1779.* To this I may add the testimony 
of Charlevoix, who may be justly placed in the first rank of 
able and learned writers on American affairs, and who enter- 
tained all the prejudices of his country against the confed- 
eracy. Speaking of Joncaire, who had been adopted by the 
Senecas, and who had obtained their consent for the estab- 
lishment of a fort at Niagara, he says, " II parla avec tout 
l'esprit d'un Francois, qui en a beaucoup et la plus sublime 
eloquence Iroquoise" — he spoke with all the energetic spirit 
of a Frenchman, and with the most sublime eloquence of an 
Iroquois.* 

It cannot, I presume, be doubted but that the Confeder- 
ates were a peculiar and extraordinary people, contra-distin- 
guished from the mass of the Indian nations by great attain- 
ments in polity, in government, in negotiation, in eloquence, 
and in war. La Hontan asserts that " they are of a larger 
stature, and, withal, more valiant and cunning than the other 
nations."J Charlevoix derives their name of Agonnonsioni 
from their superior skill and taste in architecture. § The 
perspicacious and philosophical Pennant, after fully weigh- 
ing their character, qualities, and physical conformation, pro- 
nounced them the descendants of the Tschutski, who reside 
on a peninsula which forms the most northeasterly part of 
Asia — who are a free and a brave race ; and, in size and 
figure, superior to every neighbouring nation. The Rus- 
sians have never been able to effect their conquest. They 
cherish a high sense of liberty — constantly refuse to pay 
tribute — and are supposed to have sprung from that fine 
race of Tartars, the Kabardinski, or inhabitants of Ka- 
barda.|| 

* Jefferson's Notes. 

t Charlevoix's Letter 15, page 248. Quere — Is this the Captain 
Joncaire who is mentioned in General (then Colonel) Washington's 
Journal of his mission to the Ohio. See 2 Marshall's Life of Wash- 
ton, 1 Note. 

t 2 vol. page 4. y 1 Charlevoix, b. 6, p. 271. 

II 1 Pennant's Arctic Zoology, 181, 186, 262. 



THE SIX NATIONS. 369 

But there is a striking discrimination between this nation 
and the great body of the Indian tribes, which remains to be 
mentioned. Charlevoix has the singular merit of having re- 
jected the common mode of ascertaining the identity of na- 
tional origin from a coincidence in customs and manners, 
and of having pointed out a similarity of language as the best 
and the surest criterion. As far back as La Hontan, whose 
voyages were published in 1703, and who was well ac- 
quainted with the Indian languages, it was understood by him 
that there were but two mother tongues, the Huron and the 
Algonkin, in the whole extent of Canada, as far west as the 
Mississippi ; and in a list which he gives of the Indian na- 
tions, it appears that they all spoke the Algonkin language 
in different dialects, except the Hurons and the Confeder- 
ates — the difference between whose languages he considers 
as not greater than that between the Norman and the 
French. This opinion has been supported and confirmed 
by the concurring testimony of Carver, Charlevoix, Rogers, 
Barton, Edwards, Mackenzie, and Pike — with these quali- 
fications, that the Sioux or Naudow-essies, and the Assini- 
boils, together with many nations of Indians to the west of 
the Mississippi, speak a distinct original language ; and it is 
not perfectly settled whether the Creeks and the other south- 
ern Indians in their vicinity use a parent language, or un- 
der which of the three great parent ones theirs must be 
classed. Carver speaks of the Chippewa ; Edwards of the 
Mohegan ; Barton of the Delaware ; Rogers of the Otto- 
way, as the most prevailing language in North America : 
but they all agree in the similarity. Dr. Edwards asserts 
that the language of the Delawares in Pennsylvania ; of the 
Penobscots bordering on Nova Scotia ; of the Indians of St. 
Francis in Canada; of the Shawanese on the Ohio ; of the 
Chippewas at the westward of Lake Huron ; of the Otta- 
was,Nanticokes, Munsees, Menominees, Missisaugas, Sau- 
kies, Ottagaumies, Killistineaux, Mipegois, Algonkins, Win- 
nebagoes, and of the several tribes in New-England, are 
radically the same ; and the variations are to be accounted 
for from the want of letters and of communication. On the 
other hand, that the Confederates and the Hurons were ori- 
ginally of the same stock, may be inferred not only from the 
sameness of their language, but from their division into 
similar tribes.* From this we may rationally conclude that 

* Trumbull's Connecticut, 43. Henry's Travels in Canada, 250, 299, 



370 APPENDIX. 

those nations were descended from an Asiatic stock, radi- 
cally different from that of the great body of Indians who 
were spread over North America ; and that the superior 
qualities of the Iroquois may be ascribed as well to the su- 
periority of their origin as to the advantages of position, the 
maxims of policy, and the principles of education which dis- 
tinguished them from the other red inhabitants of this Wes- 
tern World. And they were, indeed, at all times ready and 
willing to cherish the sentiment of exaltation which they 
felt ; and believing that they excelled the rest of mankind, 
they called themselves k< Ongue-Honwe," that is, men sur- 
passing all others.* 

It is extremely difficult to speak with any precision of 
the ancient population of the Indian nations. The Powhat- 
tan Confederacy, or Empire, as it was called, contained one 
inhabitant for every square mile ; and the proportion of war- 
riors to the whole number of inhabitants was as three to 
ten.f If this is to afford a just rule for estimating the Con- 
federates, it would be easy to ascertain their number and to 
adjust the relative proportion of their fighting men. Sup- 
posing their patrimonial or dwelling country to be 300 miles 
in length and 100 in breadth, the whole number of square 
miles would be 30,000, and the number of souls the same. J 
Some writers state the number of their warriors, at the first 
European settlement, to be 15,000, which would make a 
population of 50,000. La Hontan says that each village or 
canton contained about 14,000 souls — that is, 1500 that 
bear arms, 2000 superannuated men, 4000 women, 2000 
maids, and 4000 children : " Though, indeed, some say that 
each village has not above ten or eleven thousand souls." 
On the first statement, they would have 7500, and on the 
last about 5360 fighting men. 

325. Carver's Travels, 170. Mackenzie's Voyages, 280. 3 Charle- 
voix's Letters, 11th and 12th. Jeffery's Natural and Civil History of 
the French Dominions in North and South America, 45, 50. Rogers's 
North America, 246. Barton's View, 470. Pike's Expedition, 65. 
Edward's Observations on the Language of the Muhhekanew Indians. 
La Hontan's New Voyages, 1 vol., 270, 2 vol., 287. 

* 1 Colden, p. 2. f Jefferson's Notes, 141, &c. 

t On this subject see 1 Trumbull's History U. S., p. 30, &c. 1 
Williams's Vermont. 215, &c. 1 Douglass's Summary, 185. 5 vol. 
Mass. Hist. Society, 13, 16, 23, &c. 10 vol. Mass. Hist. Soc, 122, &c. 
Morse's Gazetteer Six Nations. 1 La Hontan, 23, &c. Jefferson's 
Notes, 151. Holmes's American Annals, 1 vol. 45. do. 2d vol. 137. 



THE SIX NATIONS. 371 

Colonel Coursey, an agent of Virginia, had in 1677 a con- 
ference with the Five Nations at Albany. The number 
of warriors was estimated at that time and place as follows: 
Mohawks, 300 ; Oneidas, 200 ; Onondagas, 350 ; Cayugas, 
300; Senecas, 1000; total, 2150 ; which would make the 
whole population near 7200.* 

Smith says that in 1756 the whole number of fighting 
men was about 1200. Douglass says that in 1760 it was 
1500. In the first case, the whole population would be 4000, 
and in the last 5000. 

In 1764 Bouquet, from the information of a French trader, 
stated the whole number of inhabitants to be 1550. Captain 
Hutchins, who visited most of the Indian nations for the ex- 
press purpose of learning their number, represents them to 
be 2120 in 1768; and Dodge, an Indian trader, says that 
in 1779 they were 1600. These three estimates were taken 
from Jefferson's Notes on Virginia ; and although they ap- 
parently relate to the whole population, yet I am persuaded 
that the statements were only intended to embrace the num- 
ber of warriors. 

During the revolutionary war the British had in their ser- 
vice, according to the calculation of a British agent, 300 
Mohawks, 150 Oneidas, 200 Tuscaroras, 300 Onondagas, 
230 Cayugas, 400 Senecas ; 1580 in the whole. If to these 
we add 220 warriors, who adhered to the United States, the 
whole number of fighting men would be 1800. 

In 1783, Mr. Kirkland, the missionary, estimated the 
number of warriors in the Seneca nation at 600. This 
would make the whole population 2000 ; and as the Senecas 
then composed nearly one half of the whole Confederacy, 
the fighting men would be about 1200, and the total number 
of inhabitants upward of 4000, In 1790 he calculated 
the whole population of the Confederacy, including those 
who reside on Grand River in Canada, and the Stockbridge 

* Vide Chalmer's Political Annals, p. 606, which contains the jour- 
ney of Wentworth and Greenshulp from Albany to the Five Nations, 
begun 28th May, 1677, and ended 14th July following. The Mohawks 
had four towns and one village, containing only 100 houses. The 
Oneidas had one town containing 100 houses. The Onondagas one 
town of 140 houses, and one village of twenty-four houses. The Cay- 
ugas three towns of about 100 houses in all. The Senecas four towns 
containing 324 houses. The warriors the same precisely as in Colonel 
Coursey's statement, (Cours., p. 21.) In the whole, 784 houses, which 
would make nearly three warriors and ten inhabitants for each house. 



372 APPENDIX. 

and Brothertown Indians, to. be 6330. This would make 
the number of warriors near 1900. 

In 179-1, on the division of an annuity of §4500 given to 
them by the United States, their number was ascertained 
with considerable precision ; each individual in the Confed- 
eracy (except those residing in the British dominions) re- 
ceiving an equal share. 



In the United States. 


In the Canadas 


Mohawks 


. 


, 


300 


Oneidas . 


628 . 


. 


460 


Cayugas 


40 . 


. 





Onondagas 


450 . 


. . 


760 


Tuscaroras 


400 . 


. 




Senecas . 


1780 . 

3298 
760 







Making in the whole 4058 

The Stockbridge and Brothertown Indians are not inclu- 
ded. This would make the number of fighting men 1352. 

These various estimates evince the great uncertainty pre- 
vailing on this subject. AYhile La Hontan exaggerates the 
population of the Confederacy, Smith evidently underrates it. 
We know that in their wars they often sent out considerable 
armies. They attacked the island of Montreal with 1200 
men ; and in 1683, 1000 marched at one time against the 
Ottagaumies. The first was in 1689, twelve years after 
Colonel Coursey's estimate. Supposing that 1200 warriors 
were at that time at home and otherwise employed, the whole 
number would then be about 2400 ; which shows a consid- 
erable coincidence between the two statements. On one 
point there is, however, no uncertainty. Ever since the men 
of Europe landed on the shores of America there has been 
a diminution of the number of the aborigines ; sometimes 
rapid, at other times gradual. The present condition of the 
Confederates furnishes an admonitory lesson to human pride ; 
and adds another proof to the many on record, that nations, 
like individuals, are destined by Providence to dissolution. 
Their patrimonial estates — their ancient dwelling-lands — 
are now crowded with a white population, excepting some 



THE SIX NATIONS. 373 

small reservations in the Oneida, Onondaga, and Seneca 
countries. The Mohawks abandoned their country during 
the war of the revolution ; and the Cayugas have since the 
peace. A remnant of the Tuscaroras reside on three miles 
square near the Niagara River, on lands given to them by 
the Senecas and the Holland Land Company. The Oneida 
Reservation does not contain more than 10,000 acres, and 
the Onondaga is still smaller. The Senecas have their 
principal settlement at Buffalo Creek. [*] 

The Six Nations have lost their high character and eleva- 
ted standing. They are in general addicted to idleness and 
drunkenness : the remnant of their eloquence and military 
spirit, as well as national strength, was found latest among 
the Senecas. Their ancient men, who have beheld the 
former glory and prosperity of their country, and who have 
heard from the mouths of their ancestors the heroic achieve- 
ments of their countrymen, weep like infants when they 
speak of the fallen condition of the nation. They, however, 
derive some consolation from a prophecy of ancient origin 
and universal currency among them — that the man of America 
will, at some future time, regain his ancient ascendency, and 
expel the man of Europe from this Western hemisphere. 
This flattering and consolatory persuasion has restrained, in 
some degree, their vicious propensities ; has enabled the 
Seneca and Shawanese prophets to arrest in some tribes the 
use of intoxicating liquors, and has given birth at different 
periods to certain movements towards a general Confeder- 
acy of the savages of North America, [t] That they con- 
sider the white man an enemy and an intruder, who has ex- 
pelled them from their country, is most certain ; and they 
cherish this antipathy with so much rancour, that when they 
abandon their settlements they make it a rule never to disclose 
to him any mineral substances or springs which may redound 
to his convenience or advantage. 

The causes of their degradation and diminution are prin- 
cipally to be found in their baneful communication with the 
man of Europe, which has 4 contaminated their morals, de- 
stroyed their population, robbed them of their country, and 
deprived them of their national spirit. Indeed, when we 

[* This reservation was sold by treaty in February, 1838 — the Indi- 
ans to move westward. See preceding pages.] 

[t See notices in this volume of the battles with Harmer, St. Clair, 
Wayne, and Harrison.] 

32 



374 APPENDIX. 

consider that the discovery and settlement of America have 
exterminated millions of the Red Men, and entailed upon 
the sable inhabitants of Africa endless and destructive wars, 
captivity, slavery, and death, we have reason to shudder at 
the gloomy perspective ; and to apprehend that, in the retri- 
butive justice of the Almighty, there may be some hidden 
thunder in the stores of heaven, red with uncommon wrath ; 
some portentous cloud pregnant with the elements of de- 
struction, ready to burst upon European America, and to 
entail upon us those calamities which we have so wantonly 
and wickedly inflicted upon others. 

A nation that derives its subsistence principally from the 
forest cannot live in the vicinity of one that relies upon the 
products of the field. The clearing of the country drives 
off the wild beasts ; and when the game fails the hunter must 
starve, change his occupation, or retire from the approach of 
cultivation. The savage has invariably preferred the last. 
The Mohawks were at one period the most numerous can- 
ton ; but they soon became the smallest. This was on ac- 
count of their propinquity to the whites ; while the Senecas, 
who were more remote, were the most populous [till the 
tide of civilization has now almost obliterated the existence 
of that tribe]. There were two other causes which have 
contributed to the destruction of the Mohawks : their ex- 
treme ferocity, which distinguished them from the other 
cantons, and which exposed them to greater perils ; and the 
early seduction of part of their nation by the French, who 
prevailed upon them to migrate to Canada. The scarcity 
of food has also been augmented by other causes besides 
that of cultivating the ground. Formerly, they killed for 
the sake of subsistence : the Europeans instigated them to 
kill for the sake of the furs and skins. The use of fire- 
arms has had the effect, by the explosion of powder, of 
frightening away the game ; and, at the same time, of ena- 
bling the savage to compass their destruction with greater 
facility than by his ancient weapon, the bow and arrow ; 
whose execution was less certain, and whose operation was 
less terrific. 

The old Scythian propensity for wandering from place to 
place, and to make distant excursions, predominates among 
them. Some, after an absence of twenty years, have again 
shown themselves, while others never return. Many of the 
Iroquois are amalgamated with the Western Indians. Jn 



THE SIX NATIONS. 375 

1799, a colony of the Confederates, who had been brought 
up from their infancy under the Roman Catholic Mission- 
aries, and instructed by them at a village within nine miles 
of Montreal, emigrated to the banks of the Saskatchiwine 
River, beyond Lake Winnipeg. 

The endless and destructive wars in which they have 
been involved have also been a principal cause of diminish- 
ing their population. The number of births among savage 
is always inferior to that among civilized nations, where 
subsistence is easier, and where the female sex are consid- 
ered the companions, the friends, and the equals of man ; 
and are connected and associated with him by the silken 
ties of choice and affection, not by the iron chains of com- 
pulsion and slavery. In times of war, the number of deaths 
among the Indians generally exceed that of the births ; and 
the Iroquois, for the last seventy-five years, not having been 
able to execute, to any great extent, their system of adoption, 
have experienced a corresponding diminution. The manner 
of savage warfare is also peculiarly destructive. Among 
civilized nations, great armies are brought into the field at 
once ; and a few years and a great battle decides the for- 
tune of the war, and produces a peace. Among Indians, 
wars are carried on by small detachments, and in detail, and 
for a long time. Among the former, they operate like am- 
putation; a limb is cut off, and the remainder of the body 
lives ; but with savages, they resemble a slow and wasting 
disease, which gradually undermines the vital principle and 
destroys the whole system. 

Before their acquaintance with the man of Europe, they 
were visited by dreadful diseases, which depopulated whole 
countries. Just before the settlement of New-England, 
some whole nations were swept off by a pestilence. The 
whites introduced that terrible enemy of barbarous nations, 
the smallpox ; as well in the north of Asia as in America. 
Kamschatka was very populous until the arrival of the 
Russians ; a dreadful visitation of the smallpox in 1767 
nearly exterminated its inhabitants.* [Note B.] In 1779- 
80, smallpox spread among the Killistinoes or Kanisteneaux, 
and Chepewyans, " with a baneful rapidity that no flight could 
escape, and with a fatal effect that nothing could resist."f 
Nine tenths of the Northern Indians, so called by Hearne, 
were cut off by it. J In 1670, this disease depopulated the 

* 1 Pennant, p. 215. t 1 Mackenzie, p. 17. 

t Hearne's Journey to the Northern Ocean, p. 178. 



376 APPENDIX. 

north of Canada.* A whole nation called the Attetrama- 
sues were destroyed. The vicinity of the Confederates to 
the European settlements, and their constant intercourse, 
have exposed them continually to its visitations ; and their 
method of cure being the same in all diseases (immersion in 
cold water after a vapor bath), has aggravated its ravages. 
Their imitation of the European dress has also substituted 
a lighter mode of clothing in lieu of warm furs ; by which, 
and their exposure to the elements, they are peculiarly sub- 
jected to consumption and inflammatory complaints. Lon- 
gevity is, however, by no means uncommon among them. 
In their settlements you see some very old people. 

Need I add to this melancholy catalogue the use of spir- 
ituous liquors, which has realized among them the fabulous 
effects of the Bohon-Upas — which has been to them " the 
hydra of calamities — the sevenfold death,"! and which has 
palsied all their energies, enfeebled their minds, destroyed 
their bodies, rendered them inferior to the beasts of the for- 
est, and operated upon them as destructively as 

" Famine, war, or spotted pestilence — 
Baneful as death, and horrible as hell. "J 

At the treaty held in Lancaster in 1744, the Five Nations 
addressed the colonies of Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Mary- 
land, as follows : u We heartily recommend union and a 
good agreement between you our brethren. Never dis- 
agree, but preserve a strict friendship for one another ; and 
thereby you, as well as we, will become the stronger. Our 
wise forefathers established amity and friendship among the 
Five Nations. This has made us formidable, and has given 
us great weight and authority with the neighbouring nations. 
We are a powerful confederacy ; and by your observing the 
same means which our wise forefathers pursued, you will ac- 
quire fresh strength and power. Therefore, whatever befalls 
you, never fall out with one another."^ This ancient and 
cementing principle of union and fraternity, which connected 
them in friendship, and which was the basis of their power 
and the pillar of their greatness, has been entirely driven 
from them. The fury of Discord has blown her horn, and 
rendered them the prey of the most ferocious and unrelent- 
ing passions. Party, in all its forms and violence, rages 

* Jeffery's, before quoted, p. 110. Herriot, p. 132. 

t Young's Revenge. % Rovve's Jane Shore. 9 2 Golden, p. 113. 



THE SIX NATIONS. 377 

among them with uncontrolled sway. Their nations are 
split up into fragments — the son is arrayed against the 
father — brother against brother — families against families — 
tribe against tribe — and canton against canton. They are 
divided into factions, religious, political, and personal — 
Christian and pagan — American and British — the followers 
of Cornplanter and Saguaha — of Skenando and Captain 
Peter. The minister of destruction is hovering over them ; 
and before the passing away of the present generation, not 
a single Iroquois will be seen in this state. 

It would be an unpardonable omission not to mention, 
while treating on this subject, that there is every reason to 
believe that, previous to the occupancy of this country by 
the progenitors of the present nations of Indians, it was in- 
habited by a race of men much more populous and much 
farther advanced in civilization. The numerous remains 
of ancient fortifications which are found in this country, 
commencing principally near the Onondaga or Oswego 
River, and from thence spreading over the Military Tract, 
the Genesee country, and the lands of the Holland Land 
Company, over the territory adjoining the Ohio and its 
tributary streams, the country on Lake Erie, and even ex- 
tending west of the Mississippi, demonstrate a population 
far exceeding that of the Indians when this country was 
first settled. 

I have seen several of these works in the western part of 
this state. There is a large one in the town of Onondaga, 
one in Pompey, and another in Manlius ; one in Camillus, 
eight miles from Auburn ; one in Scipio, six miles, another 
one mile, and one about half a mile from that village. Be- 
tween the Seneca and Cayuga Lakes there are several — 
three within a few miles of each other. Near the village of 
Canandaigua there are three. In a word, they are scattered 
all over that country. 

These forts were, generally speaking, erected on the most 
commanding ground. The walls or breastworks were earth- 
en. The ditches were on the exterior of the works. On some 
of the parapets, oak trees were to be seen, which, from the 
number of the concentric circles, must have been standing 
150, 260, and 300 years; and there were evident indica- 
tions, not only that they had sprung up since the erection of 
those works, but that they were at least a second growth. 
The trenches were in some cases deep and wide, and in others 
32* 



378 APPENDIX. 

shallow and narrow ; and the breastworks varied in altitude 
from three to eight feet. They sometimes had one, and 
sometimes two entrances, as was to be inferred from there 
being no ditch at those places. When the works were pro- 
tected by a deep ravine or a large stream of water no ditch 
was to be seen. The areas of these forts varied from two 
to six acres ; and the form was generally an irregular ellip- 
sis ; and in some of them fragments of earthenware and pul- 
verized substances, supposed to have been originally human 
bones, were to be found. 

These fortifications, thus diffused over the interior of our 
country, have been generally considered as surpassing the 
skill, patience, and industry of the Indian race, and various 
hypotheses have been advanced to prove them of European 
origin. 

An American writer of no inconsiderable repute pro- 
nounced some years ago that the two forts at the confluence 
of the Muskingum and Ohio Rivers, one covering forty and 
the other twenty acres, were erected by Ferdinand de Soto, 
who landed with 1000 men in Florida in 1539, and penetrated 
a considerable distance into the interior of the country. He 
allotted the large fort for the use of the Spanish army ; and 
after being extremely puzzled how to dispose of the small 
one in its vicinity, he at last assigned it to the swine that 
generally, as he says, attended the Spaniards in those days 
— being in his opinion very necessary, in order to prevent 
them from becoming estrays, and to protect them from the 
depredations of the Indians. 

When two ancient forts, one containing six and the other 
three acres, were found near Lexington in Kentucky, another 
theory was propounded ; and it was supposed that they 
were erected by the descendants of the Welsh colonists 
who are said to have migrated under the auspices of Madoc 
to this country, in the twelfth century ; that they formerly 
inhabited Kentucky ; but, being attacked by the Indians, were 
forced to take refuge near the sources of the Missouri. 

Another suggestion has been made, that the French, in 
their expeditions from Canada to the Mississippi, were the 
authors of these works : but the most numerous are to be 
found in the territory of the Senecas, whose hostility to the 
French was such, that they were not allowed for a long time 
to have any footing among them.* The fort at Niagara was 

* 1 Colden, p. 61. 



THE SIX NATIONS. 379 

obtained from them by the intrigues and eloquence of Jon- 
caire, an adopted child of the nation.* 

Lewis Dennie, a Frenchman, aged upward of seventy, 
and who had been settled and married among the Confed- 
erates for more than half a century, told me (1810) that, ac- 
cording to the traditions of the ancient Indians, these forts 
were erected by an army of Spaniards, who were the first 
Europeans ever seen by them — the French the next — then 
the Dutch — and, finally, the English ; that this army first ap- 
peared at Oswego in great force, and penetrated through the 
interior of the country, searching for the precious metals ; 
that they continued there two years, and went down the Ohio. 

Some of the Senecas told Mr. Kirkland, the missionary, 
that those in their territory were raised by their ancestors in 
their wars with the western Indians, three, four, or five hun- 
dred years ago. All the cantons have traditions that their 
ancestors came originally from the west ; and the Senecas 
say that theirs first settled in the country of the Creeks. 
The early histories mention that the Iroquois first inhabited 
on the north side of the great lakes ; that they were driven 
to their present territory in a war with the Algonkins or Ad- 
irondacks, from whence they expelled the Satanas. If 
these accounts are correct, the ancestors of the Senecas did 
not, in all probability, occupy their present territory at the 
time they allege. 

I believe we may confidently pronounce that all the hy- 
potheses which attribute those works to Europeans are in- 
correct and fanciful — first, on account of the present number 
of the works ; secondly, on account of their antiquity ; hav- 
ing, from every appearance, been erected a long time before 
the discovery of America ; and, finally, their form and man- 
ner are totally variant from European fortifications, either in 
ancient or modern times. 

It is equally clear that they were not the work of the 
Indians. Until the Senecas, who are renowned for their na- 
tional vanity, had seen the attention of the Americans at- 
tracted to these erections, and had invented the fabulous ac- 
count of which I have spoken, the Indians of the present 
day did not pretend to know anything about their origin. 
They were beyond the reach of all their traditions, and were 
lost in the abyss of unexplored antiquity. 

* 3 Charlevoix, letter 15, p. 227. 



380 APPENDIX. 

The erection of such prodigious works must have been 
the result of labour far beyond the patience and perseverance 
of our Indians ; and the form and materials are entirely dif- 
ferent from those which they are known to make. These 
earthen walls, it is supposed, will retain their original form 
much longer than those constructed with brick and stone. 
They have undoubtedly been greatly diminished by the 
washing away of the earth, the filling up of the interior, and 
the accumulation of fresh soil : yet their firmness and solid- 
ity indicate them to be the work of some remote age. Add 
to this, that the Indians have never practised the mode of 
fortifying by intrenchments. Their villages or castles were 
protected by palisades, which afforded a sufficient defence 
against Indian weapons. When Cartier went to Hochelaga, 
now Montreal, in 1535, he discovered a town of the Iro- 
quois, or Hurons, containing about fifty huts. It was en- 
compassed with three lines of palisadoes, through which was 
one entrance, well secured with stakes and bars. On the 
inside was a rampart of timber, to which were ascents by 
ladders ; and heaps of stones were laid in proper places to 
cast at an enemy. Charlevoix and other writers agree in 
representing the Indian fortresses as fabricated with wood. 
Such, also, were the forts of Sassacus, the great chief of the 
Pequots ; and the principal fortress of the Narragansets 
was on an island in a swamp, of five or six acres of rising 
land : the sides were made with palisades set upright, en- 
compassed with a hedge of a rod in thickness.* 

I have already alluded to the argument for the great anti- 
quity of those ancient forts to be derived from the number of 
concentric circles. On the ramparts of one of the Mus- 
kingum forts, 463 were ascertained on a tree decayed at the 
centre ; and there are likewise the strongest marks of a for- 
mer growth of a similar size. This would make those 
works near a thousand years old. 

But there is another consideration which has never before 
been urged, and which appears to me to be not unworthy of 
attention. It is certainly novel, and I believe it to be 
founded on a basis which cannot easily be subverted. 

From the Genesee near Rochester to Lewiston on the Ni- 
agara, there is a remarkable ridge or elevation of land run- 

* Mather's Magnalia, p. 693. 



THE SIX NATIONS. 381 

ning almost the whole distance, [*] which is seventy-eight 
miles, and in a direction from east to west. Its general al- 
titude above the neighbouring land is thirty feet, and its width 
varies considerably ; in some places it is not more than forty 
yards. Its elevation above the level of Lake Ontario is per- 
haps 160 feet, to which it descends with a gradual slope ; 
and its distance from that water is between six and ten miles. 
This remarkable strip of land would appear as if intended 
by nature for the purpose of an easy communication. It is, 
in fact, a stupendous natural turnpike, descending gently on 
each side, and covered with gravel ; and but little labour is 
requisite to make it the best road in the United States. 
When the forests between it and the lake are cleared, the 
prospects and scenery which will be afforded from a tour on 
this route to the Cataract of Niagara will surpass all compe- 
tition for sublimity and beauty, variety and number. 

There is every reason to believe that this remarkable 
ridge was the ancient boundary of this great lake. The 
gravel with which it is covered was deposited there by the 
waters ; and the stones everywhere indicate by their shape 
the abrasion and agitation produced by that element. All 
along the borders of the western rivers and lakes there are 
small mounds or heaps of gravel of a conical form, erected 
by the fish for the protection of their spawn ; these fish- 
banks are found in a state that cannot be mistaken, at the 
foot of the ridge, on the side towards the lake : on the op- 
posite side none have been discovered. All rivers and 
streams which enter the lake from the south have their 
mouths affected with sand in a peculiar way, from the prev- 
alence and power of the northwesterly winds. The points 
of the creeks which pass through this ridge correspond ex- 
actly in appearance with the entrance of the streams into 
the lakes. These facts evince beyond doubt that Lake On- 
tario has, perhaps, one or two thousand years ago, receded 
from this elevated ground. And the cause of this retreat 
must be ascribed to its having enlarged its former outlet, or 
to its imprisoned waters (aided, probably, by an earthquake) 
forcing a passage down the present bed of the St. Law- 
rence, as the Hudson did at the Highlands, and the Mohawk 
at Little Falls. On the south side of this great ridge, in 

[* The Ridge likewise extends east of the Genesee River. See 
Geological Sketches in this volume.] 



382 APPENDIX. 

its vicinity, and in all directions through this country, the 
remains of numerous forts are to be seen ; but on the north 
side, that is, on the side towards the lake, not a single one 
has been discovered, although the whole ground has been care- 
fully explored. Considering the distance to be, say seventy 
miles in length, and eight in breadth, and that the border of the 
lake is the very place that would be selected for habitation, 
and consequently for works of defence, on account of the fa- 
cilities it would afford for subsistence, for safety, and all do- 
mestic accommodations and military purposes ; and that on 
the south shores of Lake Erie these ancient fortresses exist in 
great number, there can be no doubt that these works were 
erected when this ridge was the southern boundary of Lake 
Ontario, and, consequently, that their origin must be sought 
in a very remote age. 

A great part of North America was then inhabited by 
populous nations, who had made considerable advances in 
civilization. These numerous works could never have been 
supplied with provisions without the aid of agriculture. 
Nor could they have been constructed without the use of iron 
or copper, and without a perseverance, labour, and design 
which demonstrate considerable progress in the arts of civil- 
ized life. A learned writer has said, " I perceive no reason 
why the Asiatic North might not be an officina virorum, as 
well as the European. The overteeming country to the 
east of the Riphaean Mountains must find it necessary to dis- 
charge its inhabitants. The first great wave of people was 
forced forward by the next to it, more tumid and more pow- 
erful than itself: successive and new impulses continually 
arriving, short rest was given to that which spread over a 
more eastern tract : disturbed again and again, it covered 
fresh regions. At length, reaching the farthest limits of 
the old world, it found a new one, with ample space to oc- 
cupy, unmolested for ages."* After the north of Asia had 
thus exhausted its exuberant population by such a great 
migration, it would require a very long period of time to 
produce a co-operation of causes sufficient to effect another. 
The first mighty stream of people that flowed into America 
must have remained free from external pressure for ages. 
Availing themselves of this period of tranquillity, they would 
devote themselves to the arts of peace, make rapid progress 

, * 1 Pennant's Arctic Zoology, 260. 



THE SIX NATIONS. 388 

in civilization, and acquire an immense population. In 
course of time discord and war would rage among them, 
and compel the establishment of places of security. At 
last, they became alarmed by the irruption of a horde of 
barbarians, who rushed like an overwhelming flood from the 
north of Asia — 

" A multitude, like which the populous North 
Poured from her frozen loins to pass 
Rhene or the Danaw, when her barbarous sons 
Came like a deluge on the South, and spread 
Beneath Gibraltar to the Libyan sands."* " 

The great law of self-preservation compelled them to 
stand on their defence, to resist these ruthless invaders, and 
to construct numerous and extensive works for protection. 
And for a long series of time the scale of victory was sus- 
pended in doubt, and they firmly withstood the torrent ; but, 
like the Romans in the decline of their empire, they were 
finally worn down and destroyed by successive inroads and 
renewed attacks. And the fortifications of which we have 
treated are the only remaining monuments of these ancient 
and exterminated nations. This is, perhaps, the airy nothing 
of imagination, and may be reckoned the extravagant dream of 
a visionary mind : but may we not, considering the wonder- 
ful events of the past and present times, and the inscruta- 
ble dispensations of an overruling Providence, may we not 
look forward into futurity, and, without departing from the 
rigid laws of probability, predict the occurrence of similar 
scenes at some remote period of time ? And, perhaps, in 
the decrepitude of our empire, some transcendant genius, 
whose powers of mind shall only be bounded by that im- 
penetrable circle which prescribes the limits of human na- 
ture,! may rally the barbarous nations of Asia under the 
standard of a mighty empire. Following the track of the 
Russian colonies and commerce towards the northwest 
coast, and availing himself of the navigation, arms, and 
military skill of civilized nations, he may, after subverting 
the neighbouring despotisms of the Old World, bend his 
course towards European America. The destinies of our 
country may then be decided on the waters of the Missouri 
or on the banks of Lake Superior. And if Asia shall then 

* Milton's Paradise Lost. 

t Roscoe's Lorenzo de Medicis, 241. 



384 APPENDIX. 

revenge upon our posterity .the injuries we have inflicted 
upon her sons, a new, a long, and a gloomy night of Gothic 
darkness will set in upon mankind. And when, after the 
efflux of ages, the returning effulgence of intellectual light 
shall again gladden the nations, then the widespread ruins 
of our cloud-capped towers, of our solemn temples, and of our 
magnificent cities, will, like the works of which we have 
treated, become the subject of curious research and elabo- 
rate investigation. 



Note A. — Wars of the Six Nations and the Southern 
Indians, <$fc. 

Respecting the wars of the Six Nations " against the Ca- 
tawbas, Cherokees, and almost all the southern Indians," to 
which allusion is made in the Historical Discourse of Mr. 
Clinton, there are some passages in the narrative of the 
White Woman which are strongly illustrative of the san- 
guinary character of the conflicts. Speaking of her last 
husband, Hiokatoo, a chief of the Senecas, who died beside 
Genesee River in 1811, at the age of 103 years, she says — 

"In the year 1731, he was appointed a runner to assist in 
collecting an army to go against the Cotawpes, Cherokees, 
and other southern Indians. A large army was collected, 
and after along and fatiguing march, met its enemies in what 
was then called the * low, dark and bloody lands,' near the 
mouth of Red River, in what is now called the State of Ken- 
tucky. (Those powerful armies, remarks the biographer of 
the White Woman, met near the place that is now called 
Clarksville, which is situated at the fork where Red River 
joins the Cumberland, a few miles above the line between 
Kentucky and Tennessee.) The Cotawpes and their asso- 
ciates had by some means been apprized of their approach, 
and lay in ambush to take them at once, when they should 
come within their reach, and destroy their whole army. 
The northern Indians, with their usual sagacity, discovered 
the situation of their enemies, rushed upon the ambuscade, 
and massacred 1200 on the spot. The battle continued 
for two days and two nights with the utmost severity, in 
which the northern Indians were victorious, and so far suc- 
ceeded in destroying the Cotawpes, that they at that time 



THE SIX NATIONS. 385 

ceased to be a nation. The victors suffered an immense 
loss in killed, but gained the hunting-ground, which was 
their grand object, though the Cherokees would not give it 
up in a treaty, nor consent to make peace. Bows and ar- 
rows at that time were in general use, though a few guns 
were employed." 

The biographer of the White Woman " acknowledges 
himself unacquainted, from Indian history, with a nation of 
this name (the Cotawpes) ; but, as so many years have 
elapsed since the date of this occurrence (1731), it is highly 
probable that such a nation did exist, and that it was abso- 
lutely exterminated at that eventful period." 

The worthy biographer will see that a change in the 
spelling of a single name — Catawbas instead of Cotawpes — 
renders the testimony of his ancient heroine accordant with 
that of Mr. Clinton respecting the wars between the Six Na- 
tions and the southern Indians. 

" Since the commencement of the revolutionary war," 
adds the White Woman, ;t Hiokatoo has been in seventeen 
campaigns, four of which were in the Cherokee war. He 
was so great an enemy to the Cherokees, and so fully deter- 
mined upon their subjugation, that on his march to their 
country he raised his own army for those four campaigns, 
and commanded it, and also superintended its subsistence. 
In one of those campaigns, which continued two whole 
years without intermission, he attacked his enemies on the 
Mobile, drove them to the country of the Creek nation, 
where he continued to harass them, till, being tired of war, 
he returned to his family. He brought home a great num- 
ber of scalps which he had taken from the enemy, and ever 
seemed to possess an unconquerable wish that the Cherokees 
might be wholly destroyed." 



Note B. — Ravages of Disease among the Indian Tribes. 

In illustration of this point — in reference to the combined 
influences of rum and disease upon the aborigines — some 
recent events may be mentioned here. A letter recently 
published from Mr. Catlin, the celebrated painter of the In- 
dian tribes, contains this horrid relation concerning the 
smallpox : " Only one year and a half ago I was at Prairie 

33 



386 APPENDIX. 

du Chien, on the Upper Mississippi, where I beheld its 
frightful effects among the Winnebagoes and Sioux. Every 
other man among them was slain by it : and Owa-be-shaw, 
the greatest man of the Sioux, with half of his band, died 
under the corners of fences, in little groups, to which kindred 
ties held them in ghastly death, with their bodies swollen 
and covered with pustules — their eyes blinded — and hide- 
ously howling their death-song in utter despair — affection- 
ately clinging to each other's necks with one hand, and 
grasping bottles of whiskey in the other." 

Several other tribes have since been awfully scourged by 
the pestilence ; and the opinion wa,s expressed in one of Mr. 
Catlin's late lectures, that the havoc would continue its rav- 
ages to the Rocky Mountains or the shores of the Pacific — 
almost exterminating many of the most powerful tribes. 
These facts furnish a fearful corroboration of the remarks 
of Mr. Clinton on the ravages of pestilence among the Red 
Men. 



NOTICES OF INDIAN WARFARE. 

Indian Accounts of the Alliance between the British and the 
Six Nations during the Revolutionary War. 

As a matter of curiosity, we have collected the remarks 
of some prominent personages among the Six Nations ex- 
planatory of the feelings by which those tribes were influ- 
enced to lift the hatchet against the Americans during the 
revolutionary war. Who can peruse the statement without 
responding to the language by which Chatham " damned to 
everlasting fame" the pale-faced miscreants who thus, with 
rum and clothing, bribed the savages to violate their faith, 
and wage murderous warfare upon the struggling colonists ? 
The White Woman, the intelligent wife of Hiokatoo, a chief 
of the Senecas, said : 

"After the conclusion of the French war [or, rather, after 
the termination of the difficulties consequent on the connexion 
of the Senecas with the conspiracy of Pontiac], our tribe had 
nothing to trouble them till the commencement of the revo- 
lution. For twelve or thirteen years the implements of war 
were not known nor the warwhoop heard, save on days of 



THE SIX NATIONS. 387 

festivity ; when the achievements of former times were com- 
memorated in a kind of mimic warfare, in which the chiefs 
and warriors displayed their prowess and illustrated their 
former adroitness by laying the ambuscade, surprising their 
enemies, and performing many accurate manoeuvres with the 
tomahawk and scalping-knife ; thereby preserving and hand- 
ing to their children the theory of Indian warfare. During 
that period they also pertinaciously observed the religious 
rites of their progenitors, by attending with the most scrupu- 
lous exactness and a great degree of enthusiasm to the sac- 
rifices at different times to appease the anger of the Evil 
Deity, or to excite the commiseration and friendship of the 
Great Good Spirit, whom they adored with reverence as the 
Author, Governor, Supporter, and Disposer of every good 
thing of which they participated. They also practised in 
various athletic games, such as running, wrestling, leaping, 
and playing ball, with a view that their bodies might be more 
supple, or, rather, that they might not become enervated, and 
that they might be enabled to make a proper selection of 
chiefs for the councils of the nation and leaders for war. 
No people can live more happy than the Indians did in times 
of peace, before the introduction of spirituous liquors among 
them. Their lives were a continual round of pleasures. 
Their wants were few, and easily satisfied ; and their cares 
were only for to-day ; the bounds of their calculations for 
future comforts scarcely extending to the incalculable un- 
certainties of to-morrow. If ever peace dwelt with men, 
it was in former times, in the recesses from war, among 
those who are now termed barbarians. The moral char- 
acter of the Indians was (if I may be allowed the expres- 
sion) uncontaminated. Their fidelity was perfect, and be- 
came proverbial ; they were strictly honest ; they despised 
deception and falsehood ; and chastity was held in high 
veneration — a violation of it was considered sacrilege. They 
were temperate in their desires, moderate in their passions, 
and candid and honourable in the expression of their senti- 
ments on every subject of importance. 

" Thus, at peace among themselves and with the neigh- 
bouring whites, though there were none at that time very 
near, our Indians lived quietly and peaceably at home till a 
little before the breaking out of the revolutionary war, when 
they were sent for, together with the chiefs and members of 
the Six Nations generally, by the people of the States, to go 



388 APPENDIX. 

to German FJats, and there bold a general council, in order 
that the people of the States might ascertain, in good season, 
whom they should esteem and treat as enemies and whom as 
friends in the great war which was then upon the point of 
breaking out between them and the King of England. 

44 Our Indians obeyed the call, and the council was holden, 
at which the Pipe of Peace was smoked and a treaty made, 
in which the Six Nations solemnly agreed that, if a war 
should eventually break out, they would not take up arms 
on either side ; but that they would observe a strict neutral- 
ity. With that the people of the States were satisfied, as 
they did not ask their assistance, and did not wish it. The 
Indians returned to their homes, well pleased that they could 
live on neutral ground, surrounded with the din of war without 
being engaged in it." 

The treaty here referred to was made by General Schuy- 
ler with the Indian Council assembled at German Flats on 
the 14th of June, 1776, pursuant to an act of Congress of 
the 6th May, providing " that treaties should be held with 
the Indians in the different departments as soon as practica- 
ble," &c. 

" About a year passed off," says the White Woman, " and 
we, as usual for some years before, were enjoying ourselves 
in the employments of peaceable times, when a messenger 
arrived from the British commissioners, requesting all the 
Indians of our tribe to attend a general council which was 
soon to be held at Oswego. The council convened ; and 
being opened, the British commissioners informed the chiefs 
that the object of calling a council of the Six Nations was to 
engage their assistance in subduing the rebels, the people of 
the States, who had risen up against the good king their 
master, and were about to rob him of a great part of his 
possessions and wealth. The commissioners added that 
they would amply reward the Indians for all their services. 

" The chiefs then arose and informed the commissioners 
of the nature and extent of the treaty which they had entered 
into with the people of the States the year before, and that 
they should not violate it by taking up the hatchet against 
them. The commissioners continued their entreaties without 
success till they addressed their avarice and appetites. They 
told our people that the people of the States were few in 
number and easily subdued ; and that, on account of their 
disobedience to the king, they justly merited all the punish- 



TIIE SIX NATIONS. 389 

ment that it was possible for white men and Indians to inflict 
upon them. They added that the king was rich and pow- 
erful, both in money and subjects ; that his rum was as 
plenty as the water in Lake Ontario ; that his men were as 
numerous as the sands upon the lake shore ; and that the 
Indians, if they would assist in the war and persevere in 
their friendship to the king till it was closed, should never 
want for money or goods. Upon this the chiefs concluded 
a treaty with the British commissioners, in which they 
agreed to take up arms against the rebels, and continue in 
the service of his majesty till they were subdued, in consid- 
eration of certain conditions which were stipulated in the 
treaty to be performed by the British government and its 
agents. 

"As soon as the treaty was finished, the commissioners 
made a present to each Indian of a suit of clothes, a brass 
kettle, a gun, a tomahawk, a scalping-knife, a quantity of 
powder and lead, and a piece of gold ; promising likewise 
a bounty on every scalp that should be brought in. Thus 
richly clad and equipped, they returned home, after an ab- 
sence of about two weeks, full of the fire of war and anxious 
to encounter their enemies. Many of the kettles which the 
Indians received at that time were in use on the Genesee 
Flats" at the time when the remnants of the Senecas were 
abandoning our riverside for the west, from 1825 to 1835. 

The council at which the British succeeded in causing the 
Six Nations to arm against the colonists was held at Fort 
Oswego in July, 1777 — Sir John Johnson and Colonel 
Walter Butler were the British officers who officiated on the 
occasion. The force of regulars, Indians, and tories then 
and there congregated was indicated by the proclamation of 
General Herkimer calling on all patriots between sixteen and 
sixty years to rally for defence against M the enemy of about 
2000 strong, Christians and savages, who had arrived at 
Oswego to invade our frontier," &c. 

A few days before the issuing of this proclamation, an in- 
terview occurred between General Herkimer and the chief- 
tain Brant, which may be noticed as illustrative of the causes 
that produced the alliance between the British and savages 
at Oswego. The Annalist of Tryon county observes — 

" In June, 1777, Brant went up to Unadilla with a party 
of seventy or eighty Indians, and sent for the officers of the 
militia company and the Rev. Mr. Johnstone. Brant in- 

33* 



390 APPENDIX. 

formed them that • the Indians were in want of provisions ; 
that, if they could not get triem by consent, they must by 
force ; that their agreement with the king was very strong, 
and that they were not such villains as to break their cove- 
nant with him ; that they were natural warriors, and could 
not bear to be threatened by Gen. Schuyler ; that they were 
informed that the Mohawks were confined (that is probably 
the few that remained behind, the great body of the tribe 
having removed to Canada, &c), and had not liberty to 
pass and repass as formerly ; that they were determined to 
be free, as they were a free people, and desired to have 
their friends removed from the Mohawk River ; lest, if the 
Western Indians should come down, their friends might suf- 
fer with the rest, as they would pay no respect to persons.' 
The inhabitants let Brant have provisions : after staying 
two days, the Indians returned, taking with them cattle, 
sheep, &c. The inhabitants friendly to the country imme- 
diately removed their families and effects to places of greater 
security. 

" Information having been given, Gen. Herkimer in July 
marched to Unadilla with 380 militia. He was met here 
by Brant at the head of 130 warriors. Brant complained 
of the same grievances as above set forth. To the question 
whether he would remain in peace if these things were rec- 
tified, he replied — ' The Indians were in concert with the 
king, as their fathers and grandfathers had been ; that the 
king's belts were lodged with them, and they could not fal- 
sify their pledge ; that Gen. Herkimer and the rest had join- 
ed the Boston people against their king; that the Boston 
people were resolute, but the king would humble them ; that 
Mr. Schuyler, or general, or what you please to call him, 
was very smart on the Indians at the treaty at German 
Flats, but was not, at the same time, able to afford them the 
smallest article of clothing ; that the Indians had formerly 
made war on the white people all united ; and now they 
were divided, the Indians were not frightened.' 

" After Brant had declared his determination to espouse 
the cause of the king, Col. Cox said, if such was his resolu- 
tion, the matter was ended. Brant turned and spoke to his 
warriors, who shouted and ran to their camp, about a mile 
distant, when, seizing their arms, they fired a number of 
guns, and raised the Indian warwhoop. They returned im- 
mediately, when Gen. Herkimer, addressing Brant, told him 



THE SIX NATIONS. 391 

he had not come to fight. Brant motioned to his followers 
to remain in their places ; then, assuming a threatening at- 
titude, he said, if their purpose was war, he was ready for 
them. He then proposed that Mr. Stewart, the missionary 
among the Mohawks (who was supposed friendly to the 
English), and the wife of Col. Butler, should be permitted 
to pass from the lower to the upper Mohawk Castle. 

" Gen. Herkimer assented, but demanded that the tories 
and deserters should be given up to him. This was refused 
by Brant, who, after some farther remarks, added, that he 
would go to Oswego, and hold a treaty with Col. Butler 
[the result of which treaty is already stated]. This singu- 
lar conference between Brant and Herkimer was singularly 
terminated. It was early in July, and the sun shone forth 
without a cloud to obscure it ; and, as its rays gilded the 
tops of the forest trees, or were reflected from the waters of 
the Susquehannah, imparted a rich tint to the wild scenery 
with which they were surrounded. The echo of the war- 
whoop had scarcely died away before the heavens became 
black, and a violent storm of hail and rain obliged each 
party to withdraw and seek the nearest shelter. Men less 
superstitious than many of the unlettered yeomen who, 
leaning upon their arms, were witnesses of the events of 
this day, could not have failed in after times to look back 
upon them, if not as an omen, at least as an emblem, of 
those dreadful massacres with which these Indians and their 
associates afterward visited the inhabitants of this unfortu- 
nate frontier. 

" Gen. Herkimer appears to have been unwilling to urge 
matters to extremes, though he had sufficient power to have 
defeated that body of Indians. He no doubt entertained 
hopes that some amicable arrangements would eventually 
be made with them. 

" This is believed to have been the last conference held 
with any of the Six Nations, except the Oneidas, in which 
an effort was made to prevent the Indians engaging in the 
war. In the remarks of Brant will be found what was no 
doubt one of the principal reasons of the Indians joining 
the English, and which liberal gifts on our part might prob- 
ably have prevented. As before remarked, they had been 
accustomed to receive most of their clothing and other ne- 
cessaries from the English agents and superintendent. And 
now, when they received from the Americans little save 



392 APPENDIX. 

professions of friendship, they were led to conclude that they 
were either poor or penurious^ and therefore formed an alli- 
ance coupled with more immediate and substantial benefits. 
Col. Guy Johnson is said to have addressed the Indians at 
one of their councils as follows : 'Are they (the Americans) 
able to give you anything more than a piece of bread and 
a glass of rum ? Are you willing to go with them, and suf- 
fer them to make horses and oxen of you ; to put you into 
wheelbarrows, and to bring you all into slavery V " 

The causes which led the Indians to espouse the British 
interest in the revolutionary war were incidentally noticed 
by Cornplanter (alias Abeel) in a communication to the 
Pennsylvania Legislature in 1822. This chief and Red 
Jacket were rivals ; and the first was as friendly to the 
whites as the latter was hostile when forming the treaty of 
peace at Fort Stanwix in 1784. Cornplanter was rewarded 
for his friendship by a grant of land along the Allegany 
River — in writing from which place he says, among other 
particulars of his life — 

" I will tell you now, brothers, who are in session in the 
Legislature of Pennsylvania, that the Great Spirit has made 
known to me that I have been wicked ; and the cause thereof 
was the revolutionary war in America. The cause of In- 
dians having been led into sin at that time was, that many 
of them were in the practice of drinking and getting intoxi- 
cated. Great Britain requested us to join in the conflict 
against the Americans, and promised the Indians money and 
liquor. I myself was opposed to joining in the conflict, as I 
had nothing to do with the difficulty that existed between 
the two parties." 

With the exception of a small portion of the Oneidas and 
Tuscaroras, and a few Mohawks, the Six Nations co-oper- 
ated with the British and tories in ail the atrocities which 
marked our border warfare during the revolutionary war. 
It is but justice to say that in this cruel career they were 
steadily stimulated and frequently surpassed by tories like 
Butler, Johnson, Gurty, and that miscreant Allen who af- 
terward built the first mill on the Genesee where Roches- 
ter now stands. The ferocity of the Indians was signally 
manifested at the siege of Fort Stanwix, where Gansevoort 
and Willett boldly defended the American flag ; at the bat- 
tle of Oriskany, where the gallant Herkimer fell, bravely 
fighting against the ambushed British and Indians ; at the 



THE SIX NATIONS. 393 

massacres of Cherry Valley and Wyoming, and at other 
similar scenes, the horrors of which aroused such general 
indignation throughout the Union, that the government de- 
voted its energies in the fall of 1788 to equip the expedition 
under Sullivan which wreaked signal vengeance on the Six 
Nations by a blow from which they never recovered. 



Sullivan's Expedition against the Six Nations as far as the 
Genesee, in 1779. 

The expedition of Sullivan is worthy of record here, not 
merely from its influence on the Six Nations, but with refer- 
ence to the settlement of the Genesee country. " The fer- 
tility of the western part of the state had been discovered by 
Sullivan's expedition," says the intelligent annalist of " Try- 
on County," as all the State of New- York west of Albany 
county was called before the revolution. M These and other 
subsequent circumstances produced a tide of emigration to 
the West, which has not yet ceased to flow, and which still 
pours on its flood into the far unbroken wilderness. Many 
of the soldiers who were at the close of the war without 
homes, and who had been stationed along the frontier, re- 
turned and settled upon the places of their former trials and 
-sufferings." 

The prominent events of Sullivan's expedition were 
briefly and vividly narrated by John Salmon, one of the en- 
terprising pioneers who settled on the Genesee River after 
serving patriotically through the revolutionary war in the 
army with which he had previously desolated the Indian set- 
tlements. Mr. Salmon, who died last fall (1837), was for- 
merly from Northumberland county, Pennsylvania, and was 
orderly sergeant of Capt. Simpson's company during the ex- 
pedition of Sullivan. He had previously served under the 
gallant General Morgan ; and the section of the Genesee 
country where he located was near the scene of some of the 
most tragical events of the expedition under Sullivan which 
first caused him to visit the Seneca territory. 

To repress the hostilities and avenge the barbarities of 
the Six Nations, Congress recommended and Gen. Wash- 
ington adopted the most rigorous measures in 1779. The 
atrocities perpetrated at Cherry Valley and elsewhere in 



394 APPENDIX. 

the State of New- York, as w€ll as at Wyoming in Pennsyl- 
vania, excited throughout the army a burning thirst for sum- 
mary vengeance upon the foe that " hung like the scythe of 
death upon the rear of our settlements" — a foe whose 
" deeds were inscribed with the scalping-knife and the toma- 
hawk in characters of blood on the fields of Wyoming and 
Cherry Valley, and on the banks of the Mohawk." 

Gen. Sullivan was ordered to march into the Indian ter- 
ritory, to desolate their settlements, and otherwise inflict 
signal retribution for the past, while disabling the tribes 
from prosecuting further hostilities with their accustomed 
boldness. 

11 When it was first announced that an army was march- 
ing into their country," says a chronicler of the times, 
" the Indians laughed at their supposed folly, believing it 
impossible for a regular army to traverse the wilderness 
such a distance, and to drive them from their fastnesses." 

The statement made by Mr. Salmon in 1824, and which 
is imbodied in the " Narrative" of the White Woman, pub- 
lished by Jas. E. Seaver, Esq., presents the operations of 
this expedition in a manner which renders it worthy of inser- 
tion here, corroborated as it is by the testimony of the W'hite 
Woman, by the annals of Tryon county, and by other au- 
thorities. 

" In the autumn after the battle of Monmouth (1778), Mor- 
gan's riflemen, to which corps I belonged, marched to Scho- 
harie, in the State of New-York, and there went into winter- 
quarters. The company to which I was attached was com- 
manded by Capt. Michael Simson ; and Thos. Boyd of 
Northumberland county, Pennsylvania, was our lieutenant. 

" In the following spring, our corps, together with the 
whole body of troops under the command of Gen. Clinton, 
to the amount of about 1500, embarked in boats at Schenec- 
tady, and ascended the Mohawk as far as German Flats. 
Thence we took a direction to Otsego Lake, descended the 
Susquehannah, and without any remarkable occurrence ar- 
rived at Tioga Point, where our troops united with an army 
of 1500 men under the command of Gen. Sullivan, who had 
reached that place by the way of Wyoming some days be- 
fore us. 

" That part of the army under General Sullivan had, on 
their arrival at Tioga Point, found the Indians in some force 
there, with whom they had some unimportant skirmishes be- 



THE SIX NATIONS. 395 

fore our arrival. Upon the junction of these two bodies of 
troops, General Sullivan assumed the command of the whole, 
and proceeded up the Tioga. When within a few miles of 
the place now called Newtown, we were met by a body of 
Indians and a number of troops well known in those times 
by the name of Butler's Rangers, who had thrown up hastily 
a breastwork of logs, &c. They were, however, easily driven 
from their works, with considerable loss on their part, and 
without any injury to our troops. The enemy fled with so 
much precipitation, that they left behind them some stores 
and camp equipage. They retreated but a short distance 
before they made a stand, and built another breastwork of 
considerable length in the woods near an opening. Sullivan 
was soon apprized of their situation, divided his army, and 
attempted to surround, by sending one half to the right and 
the other to the left, with directions to meet on the opposite 
sides of the enemy. In order to prevent their retreating, he 
directed bombshells to be thrown over them, which was 
done ; but on the shells bursting, the Indians suspected that 
a powerful army had opened a heavy fire upon them on that 
side, and fled with the utmost precipitation through one wing 
of the surrounding army. A great number of the enemy 
were killed, and our army suffered considerably. This was 
the only regular stand made by the Indians. 

" The Indians having in this manner escaped, went up 
the river to a place called the Narrows, where they were 
attacked by our men, who killed them in great numbers, so 
that the sides of the rocks next the river appeared as though 
blood had been poured on them by pailfuls. The Indians 
threw their dead into the river, and escaped the best way 
they could. 

" From Newtown our army went directly to the head of 
Seneca Lake, thence down that lake to its mouth, where we 
found the Indian village at that place (Kanadaseago, now 
Geneva) evacuated, except by a single inhabitant — a male 
child, about seven or eight years old, who was found asleep 
in one of the Indian huts, and who was adopted by one of 
the officers. 

" From the mouth of Seneca Lake we proceeded, without 
the occurrence of anything of importance, by the outlets of 
the Canandaigua, Honeoye, and Hemlock Lakes, to the 
head of Conesus Lake, where the army encamped on the 
ground that is now called Henderson's Flats. 



396 APPENDIX. 

11 Soon after the army had .encamped, at the dusk of the 
evening, a party of twenty-one men, under the command 
of Lieutenant Boyd, was detached from the rifle corps, and 
sent out for the purpose of reconnoitring the ground near 
the Genesee River, at a place now called Williamsburgh 
[the present residence of Colonel Fitzhugh], between Gen- 
eseo and Mount Morris, at a distance from the camp of 
about seven miles, under the guidance of a faithful Indian 
pilot [Hanayerry, the Oneida, whose fate is afterward men- 
tioned]. That place was the site of an Indian village ; and 
it was apprehended that the Indians and Rangers might be 
there or in that vicinity in considerable force. 

" On the arrival of the party at Williamsburgh, they 
found that the Indian village had been recently deserted, as 
the fires in the huts were still burning.* The night was so 
far spent when they got to their place of destination, that 
Lieutenant Boyd, considering the fatigue of his men, con- 
cluded to remain during the night near the village, and to 
send two messengers with a report to the camp in the morn- 
ing. Accordingly, a little before daylight, he despatched 
two men to the main body of the army with information that 
the enemy had not been discovered. 

" After daylight, Lieutenant Boyd cautiously crept from 
the place of his concealment, and upon getting a view of the 
village, discovered two Indians hovering about the settle- 
ment — one of whom was immediately shot and scalped by 
one of the riflemen whose name was Murphy. Supposing 
that if there were Indians in that vicinity, or near the village, 
they would be instantly alarmed by this occurrence, Lieu- 
tenant Boyd thought it most prudent to retire, and make the 
best of his way to the general encampment of our army. 
They accordingly set out and retraced the steps which they 
had taken the day before, till they were intercepted by the 
enemy. 

" On their arriving within about a mile and a half of the 
main army, they were surprised by the sudden appearance 
of a body of Indians, to the amount of five hundred, under 
the command of the celebrated Brant, and a similar number 
of Rangers commanded by the infamous Butler, who had 
secreted themselves in a ravine of considerable extent 
which lay across the track that Lieutenant Boyd had pur- 
sued. 

* See account of Mrs. Jemison, the " White Woman." 



THE SIX NATIONS. 397 

" Upon discovering the enemy, and knowing that the only 
chance for escape was by breaking through their line (one 
of the most desperate enterprises ever undertaken), Lieut. 
Boyd, after a few words of encouragement, led his men to 
the attempt. As extraordinary as it may seem, the first on- 
set, though unsuccessful, was made without the loss of a 
man on the part of the heroic band, though several of the 
enemy were killed. Two attempts more were made, which 
were equally unsuccessful, and in which the whole party 
fell, except Lieut. Boyd and eight others. Lieut. Boyd and 
a soldier named Parker were taken prisoners on the spot — a 
part of the remainder fled — and a part fell on the ground 
apparently dead, and were overlooked by the Indians, who 
were too much engaged in pursuing the fugitives to notice 
those who fell. 

" When Lieut. Boyd found himself a prisoner, he solicited 
an interview with Brant, whom he well knew commanded 
the Indians. This chief, who was at that moment near, im- 
mediately presented himself, when Lieut. Boyd, by one of 
those appeals which are known only by those who have been 
initiated and instructed in certain mysteries, and which never 
fail to bring succour to a l distressed brother,' addressed him 
as the only source from which he could expect a respite from 
cruel punishment or death. The appeal was recognised, 
and Brant immediately, and in the strongest language, as- 
sured him that his life should be spared. 

" Lieut. Boyd and his fellow-prisoner Parker were im- 
mediately conducted by a party of the Indians to the Indian 
village called Beard's town, on the west side of the Gen- 
esee River, in what is now called Leicester (near Moscow). 
After their arrival at Beard's town, Brant, their generous 
preserver, being called on service which required a few 
hours absence, left them in the care of the British Colonel 
Butler* of the Rangers — who, as soon as Brant had left them, 

* " The tories, who often commanded the Indians, were the most bar- 
barous. There is a story told of an act in a settlement adjoining Scho- 
harie, which, for the honour of humanity, would not be believed were 
it not supported by undoubted testimony. A party of Indians had en- 
tered a house, and killed and scalped a mother and a large family of 
children. They had just completed their work of death when some 
royalists belonging to their party came up, and discovered an infant still 
alive in the cradle. An Indian warrior, noted for his barbarity, ap- 
proached the cradle with his uplifted hatchet. The babe looked up in 
his face and smiled ; the feelings of nature triumphed over the ferocity 

34 



398 APPENDIX. 

commenced an interrogation te obtain from the prisoners a 
statement of the number, situation, and intentions of the army 
under Gen. Sullivan ; and threatened them, in case they 
hesitated or prevaricated in their answers, to deliver them 
up immediately to be massacred by the Indians, who, in 
Brant's absence, and with the encouragement of their more 
savage [white ?] commander, Butler, were ready to commit 
the greatest cruelties.* Relying, probably, on the promises 
which Brant had made them, and which he undoubtedly 
meant to fulfil, they refused to give Butler the desired infor- 
mation. Butler, upon this, hastened to put his threat into 
execution. They were delivered to some of their most fe- 
rocious enemies, who, after having put them to very severe 
torture, killed them by severing their heads from their 
bodies. 

" The main army, immediately after hearing of the situa- 
tion of Lieut. Boyd's detachment, moved on towards Gene- 
see River ; and, finding the bodies of those who were slain in 
Boyd's heroic attempt to penetrate through the enemy's line, 
buried them in what is now the town of Groveland, where 
the grave is to be seen at this day. 

" Upon their arrival at the Genesee River, they crossed 
over, scoured the country for some distance on the river, 
burned the Indian villages on the Genesee Flats, and de- 
stroyed all their corn and other means of subsistence. 

" The bodies of Lieut. Boyd and Private Parker were 
found and buried near the bank of Beard's Creek, under a 
bunch of wild plum-trees, on the road, as it now runs, from 
Moscow to Genesee. I was one of those who committed to 
the earth the remains of my friend and companion in arms, 
the gallant Boyd. 

" Immediately after these events, the army commenced its 
march back, by the same route that it came, to Tioga Point 
— thence down the Susquehannah to Wyoming — and thence 

of the savage : the hatchet fell from his hand, and he was in the act of 
stooping down to take the infant in his arms, when one of the royalists, 
cursing the Indian for his humanity, took it up on the point of his bay- 
onet, and, holding it up struggling in the agonies of death, exclaimed — 
4 This, too, is a rebel V " Horrible as is this tale, it finds a parallel among 
the atrocities perpetrated by Ebenezer Allen, the tory, otherwise known 
as " Indian Allen," who built the first mill and owned the " Hundred 
Acre Lot" where Rochester was afterward laid out. See " Notices of 
the first Mills of Rochester" in this volume. 
* See preceding note. 



THE SIX NATIONS. 399 

across the country to Morristown, New-Jersey, where we 
went into winter-quarters.* 

" Gen. Sullivan's bravery is unimpeachable. He was, 
however, unacquainted with fighting the Indians, and made 
use of the best means to keep them at such a distance that 
they could not be brought into an engagement. It was his 
practice, morning and evening, to have cannon fired in or 
near the camp, by which the Indians were notified of his 
speed in marching, and of his situation, and were enabled to 
make a seasonahle retreat. 

*' The foregoing account, according to the best of my 
recollection, is strictly correct. John Salmon." 

This narrative of the prominent events of Sullivan's ex- 
pedition is substantially corroborated by the journal of an 
officer, quoted in the " Annals of Tryon County," and by 
the testimony of Mary Jemison, " the White Woman." 
This latter personage was at the time settled as the wife of the 
Chief Hiokatoo, in Beard's town, the headquarters of the 
Senecas before the desolation produced by Sullivan's army, 
and took refuge then (where she remained till 1832) at a 
romantic spot between the high banks of the Genesee, be- 
side the Great Slide, and near the Falls of Nunda. 

" The country of the Onondagas, the Cayugas, and the 
Senecas, the three western tribes, was completely overrun 
and laid waste," says the Annalist of Tryon county, in 
noticing the avenging expedition of Sullivan. " To some 
it may seem lhai too much severity was exercised in the 
burning of Indian towns, and that corn, &c, was wantonly 
destroyed ; but it must be borne in mind that this was not a 
bare retaliatory measure, though as such it might have been 
justified by the previous conduct of the Indians. Their 
towns were their retreats, and from thence they made in- 
cursions into the settlements : driven back to Niagara, and 
rendered dependant upon the English for supplies of provis- 
ions, they would necessarily be much crippled in their future 
operations. Though, as we have seen, this campaign did 
not put a stop to the ravages of the Indians, yet they never 
recovered from the severe chastisement which they received. 
A part only of the Indians ever returned to their old settle- 

* " The loss of men sustained in this expedition, considering the fa- 
tigue and exposure, was very inconsiderable — not more than forty in the 
whole were killed or died from sickness." 



400 APPENDIX. 

ments from which they were driven. During the following 
winter, 1779-80, they remained in and about Niagara. 
Provisions were scarce ; those they received were salt ; a 
kind to which the Indians were unaccustomed. They took 
the scurvy, and died in great numbers. The winter was un- 
usually cold, which increased the difficulties of their situa- 
tion." 

Truly is it said by the Tryon Annalist, that, "though 
the Indians never fully recovered from the severe chastise- 
ment which they received," this campaign of Sullivan "did 
not put a stop to the ravages" of the tribes. 

" The next summer after that campaign," said the White 
Woman, " our Indians, highly incensed at the whites for the 
treatment they had received and the sufferings they had 
consequently endured, determined to take revenge by de- 
stroying their frontier settlements. Cornplanter, otherwise 
called John O'Bail, led the Indians, and an officer by the 
name of Johnston [Sir Guy] commanded the British in the 
expedition. The force was large, and strongly bent upon 
wreaking vengeance on the settlements. After leaving 
Genesee, they marched directly to some of the head waters 
of the Susquehannah River. They also went down the 
Schoharie Creek to the Mohawk River ; thence up that 
river to Fort Stanwix, and thence came home. In their 
route they burnt a number of places ; destroyed all the cat- 
tle and other property which fell in their way ; killed a 
considerable number of white people, and brought home a 
few prisoners." 

The treaty between the Six Nations and the United States, 
formed at Fort Stanwix in 1784, is noticed elsewhere. 

Can it be wondered at that the friends of Oliver Phelps 
and his followers manifested extreme solicitude, when bid- 
ding adieu to the expedition on their departure from Massa- 
chusetts to colonize this region in 1788? When it is recol- 
lected that the forces which encouraged the Indians to per- 
petrate barbarities on our frontiers during the revolution 
held possession of Niagara and Oswego till after Jay's 
treaty in 1795, it will not appear surprising that many 
doubted in 1788 whether the pioneers who then left New- 
England could long preserve their lives amid the Red Men 
of the " Genesee country ." 



THE SIX NATIONS. 401 

Indian Difficulties, subsequent to the Revolution, affecting 
the Welfare of Western New- York, 

Some information which we have derived from George 
Hosmer, of Avon, Livingston county, may be communicated 
here as illustrative of an interesting portion of our Indian 
history, and as affecting particularly the settlements in 
Western New-York. 

The facts that the British held possession of some posts 
(such as Niagara, Oswego, &c.) within our territory for several 
years after the treaty which closed the revolutionary war, that 
the Indians, rankling for revenge for the chastisement inflicted 
by Sullivan, &c, were stimulated from those posts to the per- 
petration of hostile acts towards the people on our frontiers, 
have been already mentioned. The uneasiness produced by 
this state of things is plainly manifested in the efforts of the 
United States government to propitiate the Six Nations at the 
treaties held by General Harmar in 1789, and by Colonel 
Pickering at Canandaigua in 1794. 

" The fact is not generally known," says Mr. Hosmer, in 
reply to our inquiries, " that our New-York Indians were in 
correspondence with the western and hostile Indians during 
the late war, and prior to the battle of Tippecanoe. My 
wife speaks the Seneca language fluently, and the Indians 
have been in the habit of laying their grievances before me, 
and asking my counsel. This led to a communication from 
them of their earliest information of passing events ; and it 
is remarkable that we obtained through them news of all the 
important movements on the northwestern frontier — such as 
the fall of Mackinaw, the battle of Brownstown, &c, one 
or two days before the information became known to us 
through other channels. This must have been effected 
through the chain of runners connecting the friendly or neu- 
tral with the hostile Indians. 

"In 1816 I went with Captain Parrish (the Indian agent) 
and a delegation of chiefs from the tribes in this state to the 
country of the Wyandots at the Upper Rapids of the San- 
dusky, and there attended a council held with the delegated 
chiefs from the Wyandots, Shawnees, Delawares, Ottowas, 
Piankashaws, and other western tribes. I then learned the 
fact (not generally known at the time) that there had been 
among the warriors opposed to Harrison at Tippecanoe, in 



402 APPENDIX. 

a time of general peace, marry warriors from the tribes in 
Western New- York ; who, through a savage thirst of blood, 
were imbruing their tomahawks in the blood of those who 
were reposing in confidence upon their treacherous friend- 
ship. I took down, at that time, the speech of Red Jacket, 
the Seneca chief, and that of Cuttewigasaw, or Black-hoof, 
the Shawnee chief. From those manuscripts, which are at 
your service,* the above statement is verified." 

In the account of the " First Millers of Rochester 1 ' it is 
stated, on the authority of the " White Woman," that the 
rancour of the Senecas and others of the Six Nations could 
with difficulty be repressed even after the peace made be- 
tween Great Britain and the United States after the revolu- 
tion (in 1783). It is there related that Allen, who built the 
first mill at the falls where now stands the City of Roches- 
ter, was instrumental in preventing a foray of the Indians 
upon the frontier settlements — a deed for which he was per- 
secuted by the British from Fort Niagara and their Indian 
allies. The hostile feeling, thus checked in this quarter, 
found vent elsewhere, as the testimony of Mr. Hosmer par- 
ticularly shows. 

The feelings which prompted some of the Six Nations to 
unite with the tribes that fought against Harrison at Tippe- 

* Respecting the battle of Tippecanoe, in which some of the Indiana 
from Western New- York were thus actively engaged, Mrs. Willard, in 
her " History of the Republic of America," says, " Menacing prepara- 
tions and the appearance Of a combination had been discovered among 

the Indians on the western frontier, who, watching the hostile feelings 
existing between the United States and Great Britain, considered this 
a favourable opportunity for them to commence their depredations. 
They accordingly collected on the Wabash, and, under the influence of 
a fanatic of the Shawnese tribe, who styled himself a prophet, and of 
his brother, the famous chief Tecumseh, they committed the usual atro- 
cities of their barbarian warfare. Governor Harrison, of the Indiana 
territory, was directed to march against them with a force consisting of 
regulars under the command of Colonel Boyd, together with the militia 
of the territory ; and on the 7th of November he met a number of In- 
dian messengers at Tippecanoe, their principal town, and a suspension 
of hostilities was agreed upon till the next day, when an interview was 
to be had with the prophet and his chiefs. Warned by the fate of so 
many American armies surprised and cut off by the savages, General 
Harrison, aided by the vigilant Boyd, formed his men in order of battle, 
and thus they reposed upon their arms. Just before day, the faithless 
savages rushed upon the Americans. But their war-whoop was not unex- 
pected. The Americans stood, repelled the shock, and repulsed the 
assailants. Their loss was, however, severe, being about 180 in killed 
and wounded; that of the Indians was 170 killed and 100 wounded/' 



THE SIX NATIONS. 403 

Canoe in 1811, operated still more powerfully at an earlier 
period, and drove large numbers of the Senecas particularly 
to combine westward with the Indian forces which defeated 
the expeditions of Harmar and St. Clair, and which made 
such a desperate struggle against General Wayne. What 
might have been the fate of Western New- York and its 
early settlers, had not Wayne retrieved the honour of the 
American arms by signally overthrowing the savages, who 
had grown insolent with their victories over the preceding 
commanders, may be inferred from the statement of Mr. 
Hosmer, and from the general tenour of savage warfare : — 

'* Prior to the defeat of the Indians by General Wayne," 
says Mr. Hosmer in his answer to our inquiries, " our Gen- 
esee Indians behaved very rudely ; they would impudently 
enter our houses and take the prepared food from the tables 
without leave. But, immediately after the event of the bat- 
tle was known, they became humble and tame as spaniels. 
It was a fact known to my father and one or two others of 
the early settlers, that our Indians were ready to rise upon 
the frontier dwellers of this state as soon as it should be 
known that the Indians had been victorious over Wayne, which 
they did not doubt. This information was communicated 
by an American gentleman living at Newark, in Upper Can- 
ada, high in the confidence of the government, as I have 
learned since from my father. The letters were all care- 
fully destroyed, and the name of the informer kept a secret 
by Gen. Israel Chapin (then Superintendent of Indian Af- 
fairs) and my father, to whom alone it was known. They 
kept the secret of the peril which hung over the country, 
and risked themselves and their families on the event, rather 
than, by making the fact prematurely known, to spread dis- 
may and break up the early settlements, and thus retard the 
onward march of improvement. The event justified the 
daring resolution, and the country prospered. These facts 
I learned from my father, and I have never doubted them. 
My own recollection serves me as to the altered conduct of 
the Indians after the battle westward, in which Wayne was 
victorious over the savage tribes that defeated his predeces- 
sors Harmar and St. Clair." 

The treaty of Greenville, consequent upon the success- 
ful termination of this campaign, or what is frequently de- 
nominated Wayne's War, was concluded on the 3d of Au- 
gust, 1795. This treaty, the basis of most of our subse- 



404 APPENDIX. 

quent treaties with the Northwestern Indians, was attended 
by twelve tribes ; some of whom, it is believed, had never 
before entered into treaty with the United States. They 
ceded an extensive tract of country south of the lakes and 
west of the Ohio, together with certain specific tracts, in- 
cluding the sites of all the northwestern posts, as an indem- 
nification for the expenses of the war. The stipulations of 
the treaty at Greenville continued unbroken till the battle of 
Tippecanoe, a period of sixteen years, when the influence 
of British emissaries was again glaringly manifested by the 
savages. 

M The decisive victory of Wayne," says Mrs. Willard, in 
her " Republic of America," " had a salutary effect on all 
the tribes northwest of the Ohio, and also upon the Six 
Nations." As to the influence in the latter case, the testi- 
mony of Mr. Hosmer, of Avon, with which this chapter was 
commenced, is fully accordant with the history of the times. 
Had the Indians, imboldened by repeated successes over 
Harmar and St. Clair, added to their triumphs a victory 
over Wayne, the insolence of the Senecas and the barbari- 
ties of the northwestern tribes leave little room to 

DOUBT WHAT WOULD HATE BEEN THE FATE OF THE EARLY 
SETTLERS OF WESTERN NeW-YoRK. 

The speeches of the Indian Chiefs at Brownstown (in 
1816), corroborative of the assertions respecting the con- 
nexion of the Senecas with the Indian army in fighting the 
forces of Harrison at Tippecanoe, have been politely pre- 
sented to us by Mr. Hosmer. 



ORIGIN OF THE CANAL SYSTEM. 405 

Note on the Canal Question. 

Mr. Hawley has in several publications denied that he 
ever heard from Mr. Geddes, or from any one else, the re- 
mark ascribed to Mr. Gouverneur Morris, or remarks made 
by any other person respecting the project of canalling by 
the " overland route" between Lake Erie and the Mohawk, 
before the date of his own essays on the subject. 

In reference to the assertion of Mr. Geddes that he had 
communicated to Judge Forman (as well as to Jesse Haw- 
ley) the information given by Simeon De Witt, that Gouver- 
neur Morris had suggested the project of the Erie Canal in 
1803, Judge Forman says — 

" Gouverneur Morris had travelled and seen canals in 
other countries, and, no doubt, had bright visions of the future 
improvement of this country, and occasionally astonished 
his friends by detailing them in conversation ; but it was 
nowise probable that he viewed them as works to be accom- 
plished in his day, or, as a patriot, he would have proposed 
them to the Legislature. The surveyor-general (De Witt) 
thought of those suggestions only to relate them for their ex- 
travagance ; and Judge Geddes, a member of the Legisla- 
ture at the time he heard them, was not so impressed by 
them as to offer any proposition to the Legislature on the 
subject. His suggestions, therefore, had produced no action ; 
they had literally sunk into the earth ; and, in reality, had no 
more effect in producing the canal than the ancient poet's 
song of the Fortunate Islands beyond the Atlantic Ocean 
had in producing the discovery of America ; and no man can 
now point out the person who, had I not done it, would have 
at once conceived the idea, appreciated its importance, and 
had the moral courage to meet the ridicule of proposing so 
wild a measure in earnest. It might have lain for years, 
and at length a canal been made to Lake Ontario, towards 
which public attention was then directed, had not the ice 
been broken by that resolution, and an impetus given to a 
direct canal by the discoveries made under it. 

"I have ever felt that justice has not been done to the 
importance of that measure by those who have written on 
the subject, which I can only account for by supposing each 
claimant of honour thought his own share would be the 
greater by depreciating that of others, and have sat still in 
the confidence that some impartial historian would discrimi- 

35* 



406 APPENDIX. 

nate between the importance ofthinking of a thing and doing 
it — between taking the first step and any other in the same 
course. An incident evincive of this spirit occurred at the 
canal celebration. The Rochester committee sent me an in- 
vitation to attend the celebration, with assurances of their 
1 high consideration' as i the first legislative projector of the 
greatest improvement of the age.'* I attended the celebra- 
tion at Rochester, and heard from the orator, in the presence 
of thousands, a highly honourable notice of the measure in- 
troduced by me, and the important results growing out of it. 
You may appreciate my feelings when, afterward reading 
the printed oration, I found that paragraph suppressed. I 
have never inquired by whom or for what purpose it was 
done. * * * * 

" As one of a committee from Syracuse," continues Mr. 
Forman, " I attended the fete to the mingling of the waters of 
Lake Erie with the ocean off Sandy Hook ; and from that 
day to the receipt of your letter, have been attending to my 
own concerns, satisfied with having, in any degree, contrib- 
uted to so great a public benefit, and trusting that an impar- 
tial posterity would render to each person concerned his just 
meed of praise. Nor should I have deemed it at all impor- 
tant to have detailed these facts, occurring since the contest 
for fame began, had not the singular circumstance occurred 
that the origin of a great public work, but just completed, 
should so soon be involved in obscurity, and the facts rela- 
ting to its incipient stages confidently denied, so that thou- 
sands who are experiencing the benefits of the canal are in 
doubt to whom they are indebted for the boon, instead of 
possessing such a clear statement of the case as would ena- 
ble them justly to appreciate the share each person took in 
it, from its conception to its final consummation. " 

* Copy of the invitation.— " Rochester, Oct. 19, 1825.— Dear Sir: 
It having been mentioned to our committee of arrangements for cele- 
brating the completion of the Erie Canal, that the first legislative pro- 
ceedings ever had in relation to this great work were upon a resolution 
offered by yourself in 1808, as a member of Assembly from the county 
of Onondaga, it was instantly and unanimously resolved to invite you to 
participate in the approaching celebration, as a guest of the citizens of 
Rochester. In transmitting the invitation of our committee, we beg 
leave to add assurances of our high consideration and esteem for the 
first legislative projector of the greatest improvement of the age. 
" Very respectfully yours, 

" Vincent Mathews, Chairman. 
v M Thurlow Weed, Secretary. 

" Joshua Forman, Esq." 




OJ^TZ^ 



> ■; . \ 



■s sketches of Jtockaster andMstem ¥e*-7ork.. 



NATHANIEL ROCHESTER. 

SERVICES IN THE REVOLUTION ; SETTLEMENT IN WESTERN NEW- 
YORK, ETC. 



Owing to the recent origin of Rochester, those who contributed to 
its early interests remain to behold and enjoy the results of well-di- 
rected enterprise. The individual to whom the city owes its appella- 
tion forms, however, one of the few exceptions to this remark. The 
name of the venerable Nathaniel Rochester belongs to the honoured 
dead. 

We present, in the accompanying engraving, his features once more 
to the eyes of his fellow-citizens. It is taken from an original portrait, 
painted near the close of his life. The biographical sketch which 
follows is a tribute from the same pen as the notice published in the 
Daily Advertiser, and the public eulogy delivered at the time of his la- 
mented decease. This may account for the uncredited use of the lan- 
guage of those documents. The materials were derived from personal 
intimacy with the father of our city and autobiographical memoranda 
left by him. As worthy of record, the testimonials of respect from sev- 
eral of the public bodies are subjoined ; and original letters in posses- 
sion of the family, valuable as relics of their distinguished writers. 

The family of Colonel Rochester, as the name indicates, was of 
English descent, and for three generations had been resident in Vir- 
ginia, in Westmoreland county of which state, on the 21st of Februa- 
ry, 1752, he was born. 

The name is familiar as that of an ancient Episcopal city situated 
on the Medway, in the county of Kent ; and as having constituted the 
earldom title of John Wilmot, celebrated for his dissolute life and re- 
pentant death. It may be remarked, in passing, as a curious coinci- 
dence, that the location of the English city bears a considerable resem- 
blance to our own ; and that the original name was derived from the 
most striking feature common to both. The River Medway, corre- 
sponding nearly in size with the Genesee, passes with a strong and tur- 
bid current through the town, the primitive name of which, at its found- 
ation by the ancient Britons, was Dwr-bryf, signifying " a swift stream. 11 
The present appellation is Saxon, Hroff-ceaster. The first part, Hroff, 
is either a contraction of Durobriois, the Roman version of Dwr-bryf, 
or, as Bede considered, the proper name of some feudal prince : the 
latter, ceasler (chester), is the term in that language for camp. Col- 
onel Rochester lived to find himself the last of the household of his 
childhood, one brother and three sisters having joined his departed pa- 
rents before him. During his childhood, the opportunities for a liberal 
education were extremely limited. The varied and practical informa- 
tion for which the colonel was distinguished in private intercourse, as 
well as in the public trusts he so honourably filled, was the fruit of the 
later application of a clear and vigorous mind in the intervals of leisure 
afforded by a life of no ordinary activity and vicissitude. 

His early destination was mercantile, and at the age of twenty he en- 
tered into business in company with Colonel John Hamilton, who after- 
ward held the consulate for the British government in the Middle 



408 APPENDIX. 

States. The struggle of the colonies with the fatherland was then at 
hand, drawing towards it all the youthful energy of the country. The 
political changes deranged his commercial operations, and, leaving thus 
for him a forced leisure, enabled him to gratify his feelings with propri- 
ety, and identify himself with the stern effort for freedom. His title of 
lieutenant colonel was no holyday grace, but the well-earned badge of 
severe days. It enrolled him among the distinguished staff which 
guided the operations of the North Carolina militia in that eventful 
period. The citizen soldiers of those days were far from being mere 
fighting machines. They had to think as well as act. They had 
to identify themselves in all the morale of revolutionary movement, as 
well as physically meet the duties of its campaigns. In consequence 
of this, we find Colonel Rochester, at the early age of twenty-three, a 
member of the " Committee of Safety" for Orange county. This of- 
fice involved responsibility and hazard. The business of the committee 
was to promote the revolutionary spirit among the people ; to procure 
the supplies of arms and ammunition ; make collections for the people of 
Boston, whose harbour was blockaded by a British fleet, and to prevent 
the sale and consumption of East India teas. The use of this beverage 
then was a test of political principle, and stood in the relation to patriotic 
fidelity which the few grains of incense required to be cast on the 
altar of a pagan divinity did to the constancy of the Christian martyrs. 
In 1775 the young soldier entered upon direct legislative duties, and 
sat as member of the provincial convention of North Carolina. A 
memorable year, and a memorable body in the spirit and effect of their 
measures ! Many vigorous acts were passed by them to imbody the 
continental troops, organize the minute-men, arrange the militia system, 
and devise new measures of defence. From this convention Colonel 
Rochester's first commission as major of militia emanated ; and the 
rapid progress of hostilities did not leave him long without an opportu- 
nity of testing his "maiden sword." In Cumberland county resided a 
number of Highland Scotch, who had followed the disastrous fortunes 
of the Pretender, and, in consequence, became exiles from their native 
hills. An attempt was made to connect these with the English army, 
then in New- York ; and the British general, Alexander M'Donald, was 
sent on a secret mission among them with this intention. His scheme 
being carefully executed, the first intelligence of it was that a thousand 
claymores were enlisted for the king, and were marching for embarcation 
to Wilmington. As soon, however, as it was known at Hillsborough, 
Col. Thackston, with a competent force, passed on rapidly in pursuit 
to Fayetteville, then called Cross Creek. The enemy had left before 
they arrived. Major Rochester was despatched by his commanding 
officer to overtake them by forced marches before Gen. M'Donald could 
gain the transports waiting at the mouth of Cape Fear River to convey 
them to New- York. At daybreak, however, after a march of twenty 
miles, the general and his Scotch recruits were met on the retreat, 
having been intercepted and turned at Moore's Creek bridge by Col. 
Caswell, afterward the first governor of the state. Major Rochester 
made prisoners of the whole, but, from scarcity of provisions, was com- 
pelled to release all except about fifty, who had been appointed officers 
by Gen. M'Donald. The rest were released under obligation not to 
serve again during the war ; which promise they violated by joining 
Lord Cornwallis on his march through North Carolina in 1782. The 
captured officers were marched four hundred miles to Frederick, in 



SKETCH OF NATHANIEL ROCHESTER. 409 

Maryland, and remained there as prisoners of war until exchanged. 
In disarming the whole at Divo's ferry, the poor Scotch relinquished 
their dirks with great reluctance, as they had been handed down from 
father to son for many generations, with all the rich and mysterious in- 
terest of " auld lang syne." 

On the return of the subject of our notice to headquarters, he found 
that Col. Martin, of the Salisbury minute-men, had arrived with two 
thousand men ; and to him the credit of the capture is erroneously as- 
cribed by Chief Justice Marshall in his " Life of Washington." 

In 1776 Major Rochester was again a member of the convention at 
Halifax. By this body a constitution or form of government was 
adopted. By it, too, he was promoted to the rank and pay of a colo- 
nel for the North Carolina line, consisting of ten regiments, and ap- 
pointed commissary-general of military stores and clothing. The con- 
vention organized the government by the appointment of governor and 
other state officers ; and directed an election in November following 
for members of a state legislature. A week or two before this elec- 
tion took place, Col. R. was compelled by ill health to resign his office 
of commissary. This ill health was the consequence of devoted atten- 
tion to its duties and exposure to the action of the climate in various 
sickly parts of the country. 

This extrication from immediate military duty was hailed by his 
townsmen at Hillsborough with a claim upon him for renewed legisla- 
tive exertions ; and, before he reached home, his election was secured 
as member of Assembly. In this the late Nathaniel Macon was a 
contemporary, who, for a series of more than thirty successive years, 
filled a seat in the Senate of the United States. 

After the war, and the resignation of the office of clerk of the 
court, which had in the mean time been given him, Col. Rochester 
again embarked in mercantile pursuits, first in Philadelphia, but perma- 
nently at Hagerstown, Maryland. His first associates in this were Col. 
Thomas Hart, father-in-law to Hon. Henry Clay, and James Brown, 
late minister to France. In connexion with the former, in J 783, he went 
largely into the purchase and manufacture of wheat, and established 
nail and rope factories. This laid the foundation of that knowledge of 
water-power and its application which induced the purchases subse- 
quently in Western New- York, both at Dansville and Rochester. As 
early as May, 1785, the colonel visited Kentucky to look after lands 
held by his partners and himself. This was a trading expedition as 
well, and the profit realized on the stock taken amounted to 100 per 
cent. In the summer of 1786 a violent sickness attacked the subject 
of our memoir, from the constitutional effects of which he never recov- 
ered entirely, and was through life subject to distress originating from it. 
His outward appearance always indicated a slender constitution. Tall 
in person, strong in feature, active in movement, and unwearied in 
engagements both of mind and body, he was at the same time thin and 
pallid. At a premature period of life symptoms of age appeared ; and, 
for some time before his decease, he lost his erect and soldier-like car- 
riage, and became bent and broken. His mind and temper were both 
too ardent to allow him to " rust out." High nervous energy carried 
him successfully through enterprises where stronger men might have 
yielded, but it could not shield him from the premature effects on the 
physical frame. For many years before his decease, a stranger would 
35* 



410 APPENDIX. 

have attributed to the venerable man more years than he had really 
numbered. But to the last would the energy have been found undimin- 
ished. His feelings would flash up with intense interest to political 
themes, and enter warmly into projects of a public nature for the social 
or pecuniary advancement of our city. Habitually, his manner was 
calm and thoughtful, perhaps with a dash of sternness — the conse- 
quence of early military command and the solemn vicissitudes of the rev- 
olutionary struggle. But the prevailing expression of a small blue eye 
and regular line of features was indicative of that of the heart within — 
a sympathy with others, learned through trial, and a willing activity to 
aid them in difficulties, for which he had been trained by coping with 
his own. 

But to return to the history. In 1788 Col. Rochester married So- 
phia, daughter of William Beatty, Esq., of Maryland, who still survives, 
the object of the respect of the community, and of reverent attachment 
to the circle of eight children and thirty-six grandchildren, who have at 
times been nearly all gathered in her hospitable dwelling. Two years 
after, Col. Rochester took leave of his public legislative life at the south, 
from dissatisfaction with the intrigue and management which he thought 
existed among the members. 

Col. Rochester's connexion with this section of the state dates as 
early as 1800. In this year, while out on a second visit to Kentucky, 
he visited " West Genesee," where, however, he appears previously to 
have become the purchaser of six hundred and forty acres of land. 
This purchase had been made with the intention of removing to it with 
his family ; but, finding the country very new, the population rough, and 
the locality sickly, he disposed of the land. 

In the interval between this time and 1810, in which Col. Rochester 
came as a resident to Western New-York, he continued engaged in 
manufactures in Maryland, and held as public trusts, successively, the 
office of sheriff ; president of the Hagerstown Bank, with a salary of one 
thousand dollars ; elector of president in 1808, at the accession of Madi- 
son to that office, and of George Clinton to that of vice-president. 

In September of 1800, immediately after the sale of his former pur- 
chase, Col. Rochester, associated with Major Carroll, Col. William Fitz- 
hugh, and Col. Hilton, again visited Western New-York. The two first- 
mentioned gentlemen purchased twelve thousand acres of land in Liv- 
ingston county, and Col. Rochester about four hundred adjoining theirs, 
and one hundred and fifty farther south at Dansville. In 1802 the 
same company, except Major Hilton, returned to the Genesee to look 
after their lands and tenantry, when the " Hundred-acre Lot" now in- 
cluded in our city, was obtained at seventeen dollars and fifty cents an 
acre. A site, then a swamp, now a vigorous and beautiful city ! — then 
sustaining no human beings, and now teeming with a population of thou- 
sands in the midst of every social, moral, and religious privilege that a 
well-regulated mind could desire. This change, incredible almost, as 
contemplated among the associations of the Old World, hardly with us 
creates its just surprise and reflection. It is one instance among hun- 
dreds of what can be accomplished where industry and enterprise are 
suffered to hold on their natural course ; where property is protected by 
just laws, but not fettered in its appropriation ; where no artificial dis 
tinctions of society cramp its movements, and where independence of 
thought and action are cherished and enlarged by the responsible privi- 
leges of a popular government. We suffer, and deeply too, at times 4 



SKETCH OF NATHANIEL ROCHESTER. 411 

from the reaction of a speculation pushed to wildness, and of trade 
distancing our substantial resources. But who can wonder, much less 
blame ? It is the probation of everything noble on earth, that it is to be 
developed by obstruction and restraint. The innocent feelings have 
their limit where they lose by excess their purity. The active ener- 
gies have their bounds where physical and moral law stand alike ag- 
grieved when they are overpassed. We may have transgressed thus 
in the enterprise commercial and speculative, and committed an exten- 
sive fault in political economy, if not in morality also. It was virtually 
impossible, considering human nature under the temptation, it could be 
otherwise. It is the inevitable consequence of great power in connex- 
ion with imperfect materials. The evils, it is true, are very great. If 
any evils existed, they must be great. The elements at work have been 
vast, the beneficial results almost incalculable. Less misfortune would 
there have been had there existed less amplitude of design and hardi- 
hood of execution. But it would have left regions as primitive forests 
which now are " fruitful fields" — rivers and streams to brawl to the 
winds which now are sources of productive industry and communication 
for tens of thousands. At the same time with the purchase of the 
" Hundred-acre Lot," Col. Rochester added about three hundred, ad- 
joining his former tract in Livingston county. 

Before adverting to the removal of Col. Rochester and family, it may 
be interesting to present some letters addressed to him as chairman of 
certain public meetings. They show that, although retired from the 
Legislature, his interest in national politics was unabated ; and that he 
retained with it the confidence of his fellow-citizens. 

The first is from Jefferson, written on his retirement from office in 
1809, and addressed to " Col. Nathaniel Rochester" as Chairman of 
the Republican Citizens of Washington county, Maryland, assembled 
at Hagerstown, March 3, 1809 : — 

" The affectionate sentiments you express on my retirement from the 
high office conferred on me by my country are gratefully received and 
acknowledged with thankfulness. Your approbation of the various 
measures which have been pursued cannot but be highly consolatory 
to myself and encouraging to future functionaries, who will see that 
their honest endeavours for the public good will receive due credit with 
their constituents. That the great and leading measure respecting our 
foreign intercourse [the embargo] was the most salutary alternative, 
and preferable to the submission of our rights as a free and independent 
republic, or to a war at that period, cannot be doubted by candid minds. 
Great and good effects have certainly flowed from it, and greater would 
have been produced had they not been in some degree frustrated by 
unfaithful citizens. 

" If, in my retirement to the humble station of a private citizen, I am 
accompanied with the esteem and approbation of my fellow-citizens, 
trophies obtained by the bloodstained steel or the tattered flags of the 
tented field will never be envied. The care of human life and happi- 
ness, and not their destruction, is the first and only legitimate object of 
good government. 

" I salute you, fellow-citizens, with every wish for your welfare and 
the perpetual duration of our government in all the purity of its repub- 
lican principles. Thomas Jefferson. 

" Monticello, March 31, 1809." 



412 APPENDIX. 

To the same year belongs a letter from another distinguished man, 
the successor of Jefferson in the presidential chair. It was written 
shortly after Mr. Madison's inauguration. 

" Washington, March 17, 1809. 

" N. Rochester, Esq. : Sir— I have received your letter of the 6th instant, conveying 
the resolutions of a portion of my fellow-citizens of Washington county, in the State 
of Maryland. 

" While I return my thanks for their kind expressions of confidence and regard, I 
feel much satisfaction in observing the patriotic spirit breathed by their resolutions 
unanimously adopted. 

"The situation of our country justly awakens the anxious attention of all good 
citizens. Whether an adherence to the just principles which have distinguished the 
conduct of the United States towards the belligerent powers will preserve peace 
without relinquishing independence, must depend on the conduct of those powers ; 
and it will be a source of deep regret if a perseverance in their aggressions should be 
encouraged by manifestations among ourselves of a spirit of disaffection towards the 
public authority or disobedience to the public measures. To any who may yield to 
such a spirit, there cannot be a more instructive example than is found in the anima- 
ting pledges of support flowing from the sensibility of the citizens of Washington 
county for the rights of the nation and the efficacy of the laws. 

" Accept my respects and friendly wishes. James Madison." 

The introduction of one other letter here will probably be excused, 
not only as an evidence of the consistent conduct of Colonel Rochester 
in support of the administrations of Jefferson and Madison during a most 
interesting period of American history, but from its particular reference 
to the feelings then inspired by the promptness with which President 
Madison resented the insult offered to our government by the British am- 
bassador. In explanation of the letter, it may be stated that, " in April, 
1809, a treaty was concluded with Mr. Erskine, the British minister at 
Washington, which engaged, on the part of Great Britain, that the orders 
in council, so far as they affected the United States, should be withdrawn. 
The British ministry, however, refused to ratify this treaty : they denied 
the authority of that minister to make such a treaty, and immediately 
recalled him. His successor, Mr. Jackson, insinuated, in a correspond- 
ence with the secretary of state, that the American government knew 
that Mr. Erskine was not authorized to make the arrangement. This 
was distinctly denied by the secretary ; but, being repeated by Mr. Jack- 
son, the president declined all further intercourse with him." President 
Madison writes : — 

" Washington, January 31, 1810. 
" Sir— I have received your letter of the 25th, enclosing the unanimous resolutions 
of a meeting of citizens of Washington county, at Hagerstown, on the 20th instant, 
approving the course lately taken by the executive of the United Slates with respect 
to the British minister plenipotentiary, and pledging their support of the constituted 
authorities in such measures as may be required by the unjust conduct of the bellig- 
erent powers. It must be agreeable at all times to responsible and faithful function- 
aries to find their proceedings attended with the confidence and support of their fel- 
low-citizens ; and the satisfaction cannot but be increased by unanimity in declara- 
tions to that effect. Among the means of commanding respect for our national char- 
acter and rights, none can be more apposite than proofs that we are united in main- 
taining both ; and that all hopes will be vain which contemplate those internal dis- 
cords and distrusts from which encouragement might be derived to foreign designs 
against our safety, our honour, or our just interests. Accept my friendly respects. 

"James Madison. 
"To N. Rochester Esq., Chairman." 

To return to the history. In May, 1810, Colonel Rochester first be- 
came a resident in Western New- York, establishing himself in Dans- 
ville, Steuben county. Here he spent five years, and erected a large 
paper-mill, with other extensive improvements, and increased his landed 
estate to seven hundred acres. In the winter of 1814-15 this was dis- 



SKETCH OF NATHANIEL ROCHESTER. 413 

posed of for the sum of twenty-four thousand dollars ; and the colonel 
removed to a large and highly-improved farm in Bloomfield, Ontario 
county. After continuing upon this three years, at the expiration of 
the time, in April, 1818, Colonel Rochester took up his residence in 
this city, which, in the interim, had received his name, and which will 
be to late posterities a proud mausoleum for his honoured memory. 

In 1816 Colonel Rochester was again an elector of president and 
vice-president. In January, 1817, he officiated as secretary of the im- 
portant convention at Canandaigua which urged the construction of the 
Erie Canal. Soon after, he went to Albany as agent for the petitioners 
for a new county, but the application failed. In 1821 he was engaged 
in the same business, and succeeded in obtaining a law for the County 
of Monroe, to the clerkship of which, in the following spring, he was 
appointed. He was also elected member of Assembly ; and, in conse- 
quence, sat in Albany in the winter of 1822. 

In the spring of 1824 a law passed, granting a charter for the " Bank 
of Rochester," when Colonel Rochester was appointed one of the com- 
missioners for taking subscriptions and apportioning the capital stock. 
In June of the same year he was unanimously elected president of that 
correct and vigorous institution. The office (with that also of director) 
was resigned in December following, it having been originally taken 
only at the urgent solicitation of a number of his fellow-citizens, and 
with the avowal that, as soon as the bank was successfully in operation, 
he must be permitted to resign. When this resolution was carried into 
effect, the colonel was only two months from completing his 74th year. 

The relations of Colonel Rochester to this city, after the period of 
his retirement from the bank, were those rather of personal influence 
than personal activity. The age and bodily infirmity, however, which 
restrained the latter, gave weight to the former. His opinions came 
with the experience of threescore and ten. His example was en- 
forced by the tried morality of a long life, and the higher sanction of 
religious conduct and hope. His disinterested use of the property he 
had, afforded every facility for a thrifty and prosperous population. 
From the commencement he sold the lots on terms the most liberal, and 
encouraged by his personal benefactions every plan of general utility. 
Some are now living in comparative affluence who not only owe their 
wealth to the increased value of the real estate which Colonel Ro- 
chester parted with so liberally, but also to his interposition with pecu- 
niary relief in their earlier struggles. 

From taste as well as conscientious feeling, his household was or- 
dered with marked simplicity. His dwelling was in harmony with his 
own grave and simple manners. Everything of show and luxury was 
studiously excluded. The writer has seen within a year or two, lying 
in a carpenter's shop, a strip designed as a surbase for Colonel Ro- 
chester's parlour. It is panelled in a chaste and unassuming manner, 
and was finished in that style by the builder in order to testify his 
respect for the colonel, although in the contract it was to be perfectly 
plain. "When the venerable man saw it, he thanked with great amenity 
the worthy architect, but decidedly resisted its being used. "It will 
look," said he, " like an assumption of a better style in my house than my 
neighbours, and lead to show and extravagance in our village !" 

From blood, education, property, and early associations, he might 
have been pardoned had he mistaken a little, with the majority, the 
constituents of true dignity — had he departed a little from the severe 



414 APPENDIX. 

manliness of the republicanism of his .boyhood. But he did not ; and 
men, as they went in with hearty welcome, and sat down by the plain 
fireside of the patriarch ; as they saw everything around frugal and un- 
ostentatious to a striking degree ; and as they marked the consistency 
of the man abroad and at home — caught the tone of elevated simplicity, 
and gradually circulated the frank hospitality, unaffected intercourse, and 
frugal living for which we have been distinguished. Esto perpetua ! 

From the hallowed retreat into which the colonel now withdrew, his 
eye began to look more steadily from the things of time to the solemn 
future. He had been always attached to the Episcopal Church, and at 
an early period was clerk of the vestry at Hillsborough. Through his 
long life he retained these attachments ; and on his removal to Ro- 
chester lent his aid at once to the establishment of the congregation 
known by the name of " St. Luke's Church." 

While Colonel Rochester was a young man, the sentiments of the 
French Encyclopaedists found their way to this country ; and from the 
false but prevalent opinion that the emancipation from civil bondage 
involved of necessity the renouncing the restraints of religion, many 
eagerly embraced the dangerous principles. Republicanism was the 
cry and avowed object of France ; and as might have been expect- 
ed in the condition of her church, as she shook off the fetters of po- 
litical despotism, she cast from her also with scorn the degradation 
of the spiritual. Her reform in both was a maddened excess. The 
association was fatal to many a noble-minded man who was rearing the 
Temple of American Liberty. The strength of our moral constitution 
resisted the action, and remained unimpaired in its essential strength ; 
but it left its baneful effects in many who, untainted by the venom, 
would have been among the best of earth, as they were among earth's 
most gigantic in intellect and daring in action. 

For two years this venerable man (then a young major in his coun- 
try's service) yielded to the seduction, and cherished the arguments and 
lessons of that wretched school. It is a record which we make gladly 
to his honour, not the least among the independent actions of his inde- 
pendent life, that the sophistry could not blind him, the license could not 
tempt him, the fashion could not intimidate him. His first leisure was 
embraced to examine the evidences for the Book of God ; and the re- 
sult was a firm and rational conviction that it was genuine and au- 
thentic — a revelation from God to man. He ever after held to its 
doctrines and sanctions with unfaltering trust ; stood forth in its defence 
against the argument or the sneers of his associates ; and, though not 
experimentally aware of the deep power of its transforming faith, re- 
spected and admired it in others, under whatever form of government 
or discipline it might be presented to his view. 

But, for some time before his decease, the convictions of the intel- 
lect became united to the deep affections of the heart. The religion of 
his respect became his daily engagement ; and year by year, as he ap- 
proached the confines of the present destinies, his soul was enlarged to 
know, cherish, and love the revealings of the future. The house of 
God received him, while strength remained, a constant worshipper. 
At the altar he knelt an humble recipient of its holy symbols. In the 
closet he bent the knee in frequent communion with the Father of Spirits. 
The practice imbodied what he had before only respected and admired. 

The sufferings of Col. R. during the last months of his life were 
fearfully great. A chronic disorder of the most painful character kept 



SKETCH OF NATHANIEL ROCHESTER. 415 

him in incessant distress, forbidding him at any time more than an 
hour's troubled repose ; to this was finally added one anomalous in its 
type, resembling, more nearly than anything else, the virulent cases of 
Eastern leprosy. Not a spot of his emaciated frame was exempt from 
this terrible cutaneous affection ; covered with its ulcers, blinded, un- 
able to move or bend a joint without cracking the diseased skin, the 
venerable man lay for weeks, anxiously expecting death, but bearing 
his distress without a murmur. For some hours before his departure, 
pain and consciousness were both suspended by a lethargic sleep, du- 
ring which he ceased to breathe — so gradually, that the moment of de- 
cease was scarcely known to the large family assembled around his 
couch. The struggle closed on the morning of the 17th May, 1831, 
which served to bring out, before the eye of child and friend, through 
suffering far beyond the ordinary lot of care-worn fourscore, a humility 
of repentance, a submissiveness of faith, a firm endurance of trial, and 
a triumph over the fear of death, before which they bent in reverent 
admiration, and which form a worthy close to a life so useful and hon- 
ourable as his had been. 

The good old man has gone from among us ! Long will the sur- 
viving cherish the remembrance of the venerable form, and silvered 
locks, and easy dignity of the patriarch. Long may we cherish the 
example of his simplicty, integrity, disinterestedness, and faith. Filial 
affection may build for him the marble tomb, public gratitude may grave 
the recorded eulogy, but they are not needed. He has erected his own 
monument, splendid and enduring : it is sculptured by his own hand ; 
and we have only to reply to him who asks us in what shrine it is set 
up, in the simple and majestic epitaph of England's proudest temple — 

" Si Quoins Monumentum — Circumspick." 



The feelings created among the citizens by the death of Col. Rochester may be 
inferred from an abstract of the expressions of various public bodies : — 

An extra meeting of the Corporation of Rochester was held to express the regret 
felt at the loss of the " venerable Col. Nathaniel Rochester, the founder of the village." 
The Corporation recommended the citizens to suspend their ordinary business during 
the funeral services, in respect, and resolved to attend the funeral in a body. The 
proceedings of the Corporation, published under the signature of N. Rossiter as 
President, and Isaac R. Elwood as Clerk, expressed "sympathy with the family and 
the public in the loss which both have sustained by the death of so useful, so distin- 
guished, and so estimable a man." 

The Vestry of St. Luke's (F. Whittlesey, Sec.) resolved that the church should be 
arranged with funereal emblems, in testimony of respect for the " founder of the vil- 
lage, and one of the earliest officers of the church," &c. 

The Rochester Athenaeum, through their Secretary, L. A. Ward, expressed their 
" high esteem for his many public and private virtues. The remembrance of his 
value to our village as a public-spirited citizen, to our social institutions as a decided 
and active patron, and his integrity and uprightness as a man, will long be among 
our cherished recollections." Col. R. was an " early and efficient friend, and former 
president of the institution." 

The Rochester Bank adopted resolutions reported by L. Ward, Jr., the President, 
and J. Seymour, Cashier, sympathizing with the public in expressions of regret for 
the loss of Col. Rochester, who was the first president of the institution. 

The Court of Chancery being then in session, Addison Gardiner presiding as Vice 
Chancellor of the Eighth Circuit, resolutions were adopted that the court and bar 
should adjourn to attend the funeral of the deceased, upon whose character some re- 
marks were made by John C. Spencer and Simeon Ford. 

The field, staff, and line officers of the several corps in and around Rochester — 
Gen. Oliver Strong, Chairman, and Major Amos Sawyer, Secretary— resolved, on mo- 
tion of Major Andrews, that they would parade with their respective corps at the 
funeral of Col. Rochester— Gen. Jacob Gould, Col. Newton, and Col. Riley being 
appointed a committee of arrangements. 



/ 

416 APPENDIX. 

Rochester at the dose of 1826. 

The astonishing progress of improvement in the ten years from the 
period whence the commencement of the place maybe fairly dated, caused 
such inquiry at home and abroad, that Everard Peck was induced to 
publish a Directory, with some interesting preliminary sketches of the 
origin and progress of Rochester, and other information valuable to the 
citizen and stranger. In the preparation of the work Mr. Peck was as- 
sisted by Elisha Ely and Jesse Hawley. 

At our request, Mr. Peck has politely furnished some letters received 
from two of the most distinguished citizens of this state — men whose 
names, identified with the history and literature of our country, are suf- 
ficient inducements to the perusal of any documents to which they are 
attached. These letters are copied here with the confidence that their 
contents, as well as the character of their authors, will fully justify their 
publication. 

From Doctor MitchiU to E. Peck, Esq. 

" New York, 29th March, 1827. 

u Sir— I offer you my thankful acknowledgment for the copy you sent me (with a 
polite letter) of the Directory lately published from your press for Rochester vil- 
lage. The perusal of your work brings to my recollection the wonderful alteration 
that has taken place, during my own short time, in the country situate south of Lake 
Ontario. In 1788 I went, with the commissioners appointed by the State of New- 
York, to a treaty held with the Six Tribes at Fort Schuyler (or Fort Stanwix). At 
that solemn couference, the Indian right, with the exception of certain reservations, 
to the lands situate west and southwest of what was then called the Line of Property 
between the white and red men, was purchased for the commonwealth. There were 
on it a few Indian settlements and military posts ; but all the rest of the region now 
constituting the great Western District, quite to Niagara River and Lake Erie, was 
in the state of nature. I well remember what a serious undertaking it was for a small 
party of us to penetrate through the wilderness by the route of Wood Creek, Lake 
Oneida, and Oswego River to Fort Oswego, then held by a British garrison, before 
the surrender of the forts within our territory, after the peace of 1783, under the sub- 
sequent treaty. [Oswego and some other forts were held by the British till after 
Jay's treaty in 1795.] It was my lot, after returning to the place of negotiation, to 
subscribe as a witness the important deeds confirmatory of the bargain with the In- 
dians. During the summer of 1809 I went the entire tour by the customary track, as it 
then was, from Albany to Upper Canada. I did not visit the region again until the 
autumn of 1824, when I travelled along the canal at Rochester, and went by the Ridge- 
Road to Lewiston ; and viewed, on my return from Presquile and its vicinity, the 
vast works at Lockport then approaching their completion. 

" You may form some idea of my emotion when I made my last trip, and contrasted 
the actual appearance of things with their condition within the reach of my remem- 
brance. The series and aggregate of solid improvement has probably no parallel in 
the history of human emigration and settlement. 

" As to the village of Rochester, I became convinced, after a rapid survey, that it 
was destined to be the seat of much population and business. Its easy connexion 
with the inland seas and with the ocean, added to the fertility of the surrounding 
country and the water-power for manufacturing operations, render its position pecu- 
liarly favourable for the transaction of business, the disposal of produce, and the em- 
ployment of capital. 

" The handsome typography of the work is, I presume, a companion of its general 
accuracy. Mr. Elisha Johnson's map renders it additionally important. Your his- 
torical and statistical sketches are valuable for the distant reader as well as the local 
resident. Will you offer my respectful salutations to Mr. Ely, and receive a full 
measure of the same for yourself? SAMUEL L. MITCHILL." 

From Governor Clinton to E. Peck, Esq. 

" Albany, 7th June, 1827. 

"Sir— I beg you to accept my thanks for the Directory and Annals of Rochester. 
When I saw your place in 1810, without a house, who would have thought that in 
1826 it would be the source of such a work? This is the most striking illustration 
that can be furnished of the extraordinary progress of your region in the career of 
prosperity. Surrounded by the blessings of nature and the improvements of art, may 
you continue to deserve them, and to flourish with the progress of time and in the ful- 
ness of virtue. I am, with great esteem, your most obedient servant, 

" DE WITT CLINTON. 



